Double double.(THE MUSIC)(Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 5 by John O'Conor with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andreas Delfs and Yefim Bronfman with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under the baton of David Zinman)(Sound recording review)

For this issue, Tom Lyle and I have decided to follow up on our Beethoven piano concerto comparison from Issue 113 (where we compared recordings of the 3rd and 4th concerti) by once again comparing two recordings of a piano concerto, this time the famous "Emperor" Concerto, the fifth and final of Beethoven's concerti for piano and orchestra. From Telarc, we have a new recording by Irish pianist John O'Conor with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andreas Delfs (Telarc CD-80675), while on the budget Arte Nova label, we have pianist Yefim Bronfman with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under the baton of David Zinman (Arte Nova ANO 825850).

Following our usual practice, Tom and I have refrained from discussing these two recordings with each other and have done both our listening and our writing completely independently. Because this is an even-numbered issue, Tom will lead off with his findings and then I will close with my perspective on these two recordings.

TL: Now it's my turn to be brief, and I hope that doesn't upset Karl to much. This is kind of a David v. Goliath story--the ultra-budget Arte Nova v. the full-price Telarc. On the Telarc is the mighty London Symphony Orchestra, on the Arte Nova, the highly qualified but lesser known Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich. On the budget label is the formidable pianist Yefim Bronfman, and on the Telarc the more unknown (at least to me, even though he is quite accomplished in his own right) John O'Conor.

On the Telarc, the LSO takes advantage of the Telarc DSD sound, lush and deep, with a soundstage that extends to the far ends of the earth. The low end also seems infinite. The LSO sounds marvelous--like a well-rehearsed machine running on all 12 cylinders, expertly conducted by Andreas Delfs.

In comparison, the Tonhalle Orchestra sounds thin and a little dog-eared. Judged on its own merits, the Arte Nova is a fine orchestral recording, but compared to the LSO on Telarc it seems a little distant, with much more hall sound--the reverberation clouding things up a bit.

On the Telarc recording, John O'Conor is a fine pianist, and he sails through the piece capably. But compared to Yefim Bronfman on the Arte Nova CD, O'Conor's playing seems a bit labored, as if his hands cannot execute what his brain tells them to do. I'm exaggerating. But during the Adagio, Bronfman executes the climbing trills as if a machine posses his fingers, while O'Conor sounds as if he is struggling to keep up with the orchestra. Of course this is just one example, ...