- ABC Classics
- 4818533
- 3CD set
Beethoven: The Piano Concertos
Jayson Gillham (piano), Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Carter
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ABC Classic is thrilled to announce the release of the complete piano concertos by Beethoven, performed by pianist Jayson Gillham, with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Carter.
This cycle – the first in twenty years recorded with an Australian pianist, conductor and orchestra – is a major contribution to the ongoing celebrations of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary.
Beethoven’s five piano concertos stand at the very pinnacle of classical music. Written between 1795 and 1809, they trace the evolution of Beethoven’s music from the inheritor of the Classical style perfected by Mozart and Haydn, to the inventor of a style that was entirely his own: dramatic, expressive, and revolutionary.
Recorded in five concerts performed over 10 days at Adelaide’s Elder Hall in June 2019, these recordings capture a soloist, conductor and orchestra totally in synch with each other, with a shared vision for the sound world and rhetoric of these mighty works. Reviews of the concert remarked at the “chamber music-like intimacy” between the performers, with a “sense of balance and support… often never heard before within these well-known and much listened to works” (Limelight).
Internationally praised for his compelling performances, Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham is recognised as one of the finest pianists of his generation. His debut album, released in 2016, immediately reached the No. 1 spot in both the Core Classical and Classical Crossover ARIA charts, while his latest album, 2018’s Romantic Bach, was described as “exceptional” and “a supremely satisfying recital from start to finish” by Limelight, and Gramophone said that, “many of these performances must bear comparison with famous recordings of the past by Rachmaninov, Myra Hess and Dinu Lipatti. Gillham comes up trumps every time.”
Nicholas Carter was appointed Principal Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2016 – the first Australian to be chosen as Principal Conductor of an Australian orchestra in over 30 years – and has established a reputation as a conductor of exceptional versatility, equally at home in the concert hall and opera house, and fluent in a diverse repertoire. Newly appointed as Chief Conductor of the Stadttheater Klagenfurt and the Kärntner Sinfonieorchester, Nicholas Carter will lead three new productions per season and appear regularly in the orchestra’s concert series.
With a reputation for vitality and versatility, the much loved Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is South Australia’s largest performing arts organisation, established in 1936. For over 80 years, the ASO has been there to corroborate life and contribute to South Australia’s identity. Today the ASO plays a major role in Adelaide’s cultural and economic vibrancy, and enriches the community through a diverse program of world-class performances to more than 100,000 concertgoers each season.