Complete Piano Concertos : Hannes Minnaar(P)Jan Willem de Vriend / Het Oosten Orchestra (3SACD)(Hybrid)

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 teh 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 teh disc with Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 for ''its pleasing mix of finesse and drive''. 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 espirit de finesse that can be identified as the distinctive brand or these recordings.