now playing, one final post of this morning classical binge before I read or go out

start of Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYZROU_AVrI&list=OLAK5uy_nxMX0xOvFj8GypR5fd1xYF7s2FgFhnGtk&index=8

start of Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op.58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSRalTo3wLk&list=OLAK5uy_nxMX0xOvFj8GypR5fd1xYF7s2FgFhnGtk&index=11

start of Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TcnFQ4Gjv0&list=OLAK5uy_nxMX0xOvFj8GypR5fd1xYF7s2FgFhnGtk&index=13

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nxMX0xOvFj8GypR5fd1xYF7s2FgFhnGtk

There's such an enormous quantity of recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos, it's truly dizzying and daunting. I guess it's good because it means there's an ideal performance to suit everyone's individual tastes, but it can be difficult and time-consuming to find it!

That said, can't go wrong with Paul Lewis, whose cycle of the piano sonatas are fantastic as well as his recordings of Schubert, and Jiri Belohlavek, a pretty great and consistent conductor with some top-tier recordings of Czech music (eg Dvorak, Suk, Smetana), so paired together, it's a pretty safe bet of a quality cycle, and all of the popular and critical acclaim seems to borne this out.

Next time I'll probably opt for the Brendel/Levine or Zimerman/Bernstein cycles, and if anyone has any personal recommendations and favorites, I'm all ears. Also, anyone have any thoughts on the Bernstein/Gould cycle?