The Complete Piano Concertos by Hannes Minnaar / Jan Willem de Vriend / The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

Hannes Minnaar / Jan Willem de Vriend / The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

The Complete Piano Concertos

Format: SACD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917276329
Catnr: CC 72763
Release date: 02 June 2017

Hi-res download at Spirit of Turtle

SACD (3 items)
		Hi-res download at Spirit of Turtle

Label
Challenge Classics

UPC
0608917276329

Catalogue number
CC 72763

Release date
02 June 2017

"Hannes Minnaar was so lucky to study with Alfred Brendel and he owes him a lot. Surely he owes him the beethovenian feeling of balance and, even more, the beethovenian outstanding clarity."

Crescendo, 27-2-2018

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

Here is the box containing Beethoven’s five Piano Concertos performed by Hannes Minnaar and The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jan Willem de Vriend.
So far two single volumes had been issued: while the one including Concertos nos. 4 & 5 was acclaimed by Gramophone as: "beginning a Beethoven cycle with the Fourth and Fifth Concertos is a bold move but one that pays off in all sorts of ways", the same magazine welcomed the disc with Concertos nos. 1 & 2 for “its pleasing mix of finesse and drive”.

Now the box also offers the so far unissued Concerto no. 3.

Despite the very large number of recordings already made of this musical corpus, Minnaar and de Vriend have proved that they have something new and totally their own to say about this collection of masterpieces. And it is indeed the peculiar blend of sheer energy and esprit de finesse that can be identified as the distinctive brand or these recordings.

Beethovens pianoconcerten in een onvergelijkbare uitvoering
Deze verzameling bevat de vijf Pianoconcerten van Ludwig van Beethoven, uitgevoerd door Hannes Minnaar en The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (Orkest van het Oosten) onder leiding van Jan Willem de Vriend. Hoewel deze werken van Beethoven al vele malen zijn uitgevoerd en opgenomen, weten Minnaar en De Vriend er iets geheel eigens en nieuws van te maken. De opnames kennen een eigenaardige mengeling van zuivere energie en esprit de finesse. Ook Minnaars interpretatie van het Derde Pianoconcert, nog niet eerder uitgebracht, is opgenomen in de verzameling.

"Minnaar is meer dan een combinatie van een sobere Noordelijke perfectionist met een opwindende Franse flair, (getuige zijn prachtige solo album Gabriel Fauré, Piano Music, Minnaar); beide karaktereigenschappen zijn onmiskenbaar en onlosmakelijk vervlochten in zijn Beethoven. Alle elementen bij elkaar genomen, zou ik zeggen dat deze verzameling nauwelijks vergelijkbaar is met die van iemand anders." HRAudio, juni 2017.

Beethoven schreef vijf concerten voor piano. Dat lijkt niet veel, vergeleken met zijn tijdgenoot Mozart, die er 27 schreef. Maar, hoewel kleiner, Beethovens bijdrage is een niet weg te denken monument in de muziekgeschiedenis. De componist gebruikte zijn eerste twee concerten om los te komen van zijn grote voorbeeld Mozart. In zijn Derde Pianoconcert voegde Beethoven nieuwe dimensies toe aan de dramatische mogelijkheden van een pianoconcert. Zijn laatste pianoconcerten No. 4 en No. 5 bleken onvergelijkbaar in hun genre. Muziekexperts en liefhebbers adoreren het stralende Vierde Pianoconcert, terwijl het Vijfde concert de absolute, eeuwige topfavoriet is van het grote publiek. De pianoconcerten van Beethoven laten dus een ontwikkeling zien, die meer dan de helft van het leven van de componist beslaat.

Al eerder verschenen er twee delen met pianoconcerten van Beethoven. Gramophone schreef over het eerste deel, met het Vierde en Vijfde Pianoconcert, “Een Beethoven cyclus beginnen met het Vierde en Vijfde Pianoconcert is een stoutmoedige zet, maar wel één die zichzelf op vele manieren uitbetaalt." Over het tweede album met de eerste twee pianoconcerten van Beethoven: "een plezierige mengeling van finesse en geestdrift".

Hannes Minnaar is een erkend vooraanstaand pianist binnen zijn generatie. Niet alleen dankzij deze Beethovenopnames, maar ook door zijn succesvolle Faurérecital en zijn opnames van Beethovens Sonates voor piano en viool samen met Isabelle van Keulen.

Het Orkest van het Oosten, dat is passie, betrokkenheid en virtuositeit. Het is hét symfonieorkest van en voor Overijssel. Het orkest streeft naar kwaliteit en hoogwaardige concerten voor een breed publiek en werkt samen met topmusici uit de hele wereld. De reputatie van het Orkest van het Oosten is in de afgelopen jaren, onder de leiding van Jan Willem de Vriend, aanzienlijk gestegen. Onder de naam The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra maakte het orkest succesvolle concertreizen naar Amerika, Spanje en Engeland.

Dieses Boxset beinhaltet Beethovens fünf Klavierkonzerte, gespielt von Hannes Minnaar und dem Niederländischen Symphonieorchester unter der Leitung von Jan Willem de Vriend.
Bisher wurden zwei Einzel-CDs veröffentlicht: Während Gramophone der Platte mit den Konzerten Nr. 4 und 5 viel Lob aussprach, da „einen Beethoven-Zyklus mit dem Vierten und Fünften Klavierkonzert zu beginnen sich in vielerlei Hinsicht auszahlt“, hieß das Magazin die CD mit dem Ersten und Zweiten Konzert wegen „ihrer angenehmen Mischung von Finesse und Antrieb“ willkommen.
Diese Box bietet nun das bis dato unveröffentlichte Klavierkonzert Nr. 3.
Trotz der (zu) großen Anzahl an Aufnahmen dieses musikalischen Corpus haben Minnaar und de Vriend bewiesen, dass sie über diese Sammlung von Meisterwerken etwas Neues, gänzlich Individuelles zu sagen haben, und es ist in der Tat die ganz eigene Mischung von schierer Energie, Esprit und Finesse, die als prägendes Merkmal dieser Veröffentlichung hervortritt.

Artist(s)

Hannes Minnaar (piano)

Hannes Minnaar received international acclaim after winning prizes at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2010, 3rd prize) and the Geneva International Music Competition (2008, 2nd prize) and being awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship (2011). He studied with Jan Wijn at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating with the highest distinction and took master classes with Menahem Pressler and Ferenc Rados. In addition, he studied organ with Jacques van Oortmerssen.
Minnaar was soloist with various orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, during which time he worked with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Jiří Bělohlávek, Herbert Blomstedt, Frans Brüggen, Eliahu Inbal, Edo de Waart and Xian Zhang. He gives recitals in many European countries and around the world. He performed at the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Musashino Hall (Tokyo) and the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow) and was invited to the festivals of La Roque d’Anthéron, Bordeaux (Jacobins) and Guangzhou.
Minnaar is also active as a chamber musician. As a member of the Van Baerle Trio he won prizes at competitions in Lyon (2011, CIMCL, 1st prize) and Munich (2013, ARD, 2nd prize). The trio gave 18 concerts in an international tour in the “Rising Stars” series in 2014, including the Barbican (London), Musikverein (Vienna) and Cité de la Musique (Paris). Minnaar also performed with musicians such as Janine Jansen, Isabelle van Keulen and Mischa Maisky.
His two solo albums are highly acclaimed. His debut album was awarded an Edison and Gramophone published a full-page article about this album. The same magazine wrote about his second album “Bach inspirations”: “After Minnaar’s debut disc, this makes two hits in a row”. BBC Music Magazine selected it as “Instrumental choice of the month” with 5 stars.
Minnaar is currently recording all of Beethoven’s piano concertos for Challenge Classics. Other future concert highlights include Liszt’s Totentanz and a new concerto by Robert Zuidam with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Markus Stenz – at which occiasion he will be awarded the Dutch Music Prize by the Dutch Minister of Culture – and Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Daniele Rustioni.

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The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra is based in Enschede, in the province of Overijssel. Performing at an international level, as evidenced by its highly acclaimed CDs and invitations for international tours, the orchestra is firmly rooted in society.
Jan Willem de Vriend has been its artistic director and chief conductor since 2006. He will be succeeded by Ed Spanjaard in 2017. Under De Vriend’s leadership, the orchestra has expanded its repertoire to cover music from four centuries. Its use of period instruments in the Classical repertoire gives the orchestra a distinctive and highly individual character.
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra performs amongst others in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Enschede, Zwolle and Deventer. In addition, it has made successful tours of the United States, Spain and England and it often works with the Dutch National Touring Opera Company. In its home town Enschede, the orchestra builds on a symphonic tradition of more than 80 years, and it is known as one of the most modern and entrepreneurial orchestras in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra created a number of ensembles, such as a chamber orchestra, the Baroque Academy of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra (BANSO) and various chamber music ensembles. The orchestra’s commitment to expanding its social relevance is also reflected in the large number of projects in which education is a key element.
The orchestra has worked with distinguished conductors, such as its former chief conductor Jaap van Zweden, Vasily Petrenko, Edo de Waart, Claus Peter Flor and Tan Dun. It also has accompanied many celebrated soloists, including Gidon Kremer, Ronald Brautigam, Natalia Gutman, Charlotte Margiono, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Thomas Zehetmair.

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Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor)

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”. An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest...

Jan Willem de Vriend, designated “a godsend from the Netherlands” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, is driven by the pioneering spirit of historically informed perfomance practice. As music director of the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, which he founded in 1982, he specialised in repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviving a wealth of rarely heard works through historically informed performances on modern instruments, praised by Gramophone magazine for their “technical finesse and a lively feeling for characterization”.
An award-winner for his creative contribution to classical music, Jan Willem de Vriend has more than 50,000 followers on Spotify and is in demand as a conductor around the world, appearing regularly with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Belgian National Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, Orchestre National de Lyon, Bergen Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Netherlands Radio and Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt Radio Symphony), Melbourne Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic. He is Principal Conductor Designate of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Lille, and former Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya and the Brabant Orchestra.
For the Challenge Classics label, de Vriend and the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra have recorded the complete Mendelssohn symphonies and all Beethoven’s symphonies and concertos with, among others, pianist Hannes Minnaar and violinist Liza Ferschtman. De Vriend’s interpretation of the Symphony No 7 prompted Classic FM to admire “a bounding flair that does real justice to the composer’s capacity for joy”. A further landmark of his recorded catalogue is his complete recording of the Schubert symphonies with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag.
De Vriend’s collaborative spirit is equally evident in his work for the stage, notably with opera director Eva Buchmann and Combattimento Consort Amsterdam. In addition to works by Monteverdi, Haydn, Handel and Telemann, their productions in Europe and the USA have included staged versions of Bach’s ‘Hunting’ and ‘Coffee’ Cantatas at the Bachfest Leipzig, and operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Cherubini, among them Mozart’s Don Giovanni und Rossini’s La gazzetta, both toured in Switzerland. De Vriend has also conducted operatic productions in Amsterdam (with the Nederlandse Reisopera), Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lucerne, Schwetzingen and Bergen.

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Composer(s)

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include nine symphonies, five piano concertos, one violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio. Together with Mozart and Haydn, he was part of the First Viennese School. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age and was taught by his father Johann van Beethoven and by composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe. At the age of 21 he moved to Vienna, where he began studying composition with Joseph Haydn, and gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. By his late 20s his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. In 1811 he gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from these last 15 years of his life.

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Press

Hannes Minnaar was so lucky to study with Alfred Brendel and he owes him a lot. Surely he owes him the beethovenian feeling of balance and, even more, the beethovenian outstanding clarity.
Crescendo, 27-2-2018

All three are highly recommendable modern cycles in top-notch sound, and Minnaar’s very satisfying cycle might yet prove to be the more central recommendation among them.
Music Web International, 09-1-2018

A grand performance of a conductor with vision, a pianist radiating peace and control and a label with guts. And last but not least, an orchestra to treasure.
Luister, 06-10-2017

The young Dutchman Hannes Minnaar faces the challenge with an overall recording; with the conductor and Beethoven expert de Vriend.
WDR3, 28-9-2017

Pianorecital by master pianist
Dagblad van het Noorden, 14-9-2017

Choosing his own musically very rich way, Hannes Minnaar is very well supported by Jan Willem de Vriend, and both sign an unconventionally personal account of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos, the first reference recording of this cycle in the 21st Century.
Pizzicato, 09-9-2017

These are the ultimate Beethoven concerts for the second decade of the 21st century!
WDR3, 28-8-2017

Buoyant, joyful and brimming with energy
The Guardian, 24-8-2017

The pianist is a true performer, a musician who is not in the forefront, but uses the golden interpretations of the music.
Klassieke Zaken, 04-8-2017

Glad to say we still have these impressive Sacd's
De Gelderlander, 19-7-2017

Pianist Hannes Minnaar is immediately in the ropes
De Gelderlander, 19-7-2017

Between the two creates a tension of plus and minus ends that the most exquisite interplay gaining force against time. Minnar makes the light heavy, De Vriend the heavy light.
De Groene Amsterdammer, 05-7-2017

The Dutch music label Challenge Classics has a gem with the young pianist Hannes Minnaar.
Kerk en leven, 23-6-2017

CD of the week at Radio 4 - Hannes Minnaar | Beethoven Piano Concertos
Radio 4, 12-6-2017

Minnaar is more a combination of a sober Northerly perfectionist with exiting French flair, (compare his wonderful solo disc Fauré: Piano Music - Minnaar) both characteristics intertwiningly co-existing in his Beethoven. Taken all these elements together, I’d say that this set is hardly comparable with anyone else’s.
HRAudio, 04-6-2017

The album of the week, a 3 cd box, containing Beethoven's five Piano Concertos performed by Hannes Minnaar and The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jan Willem de Vriend.
Classic FM, 04-6-2017

The members of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra are playing on the edge of their Chair. And Hannes Minnaar follows that same steep path perfectly! Nothing is flattened or updated. Then there was Bert van der Wolf who has immortalized this extremely colorful and engaging piece in a beautiful recording.
Opus Klassiek, 01-6-2017