Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G, (Minnaar)

One of those recordings you just fall in love with a dozen bars in – everything about it is just so vital & joyful & expressive. Start with The Netherlands SO under de Vriend – it’s not a period orchestra by any means, but boasts some inspired HIP touches. The horns and trumpets are all valveless period instruments, and give the tuttis an exhilaratingly razzy sound – see the soaring texture at 2:00 (I swear to god, this was so unexpected the first time I heard it I actually teared up a little), and similarly 12:53 and 28:03. The timpani here, too, is a period instrument (those sharp attacks at 22:42 & 25:17!). What results is a much more textured and responsive orchestral sound than usual, with some lines that are often hidden (e.g., the horn timpani gesture at 29:07) gaining a lot more presence. The strings also use very little if any vibrato – this trades away a bit of body in the sound, but the purity of the resulting tone creates a wonderful yearning quality in many passages (4:33; 16:36