The Complete Piano Concertos (reissue)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Hannes Minnaar
The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Jan Willem de Vriend (conductor)
De Vriend (...) leads with personality, and inspires confidence in every measure. ...these three discs are a great demonstration of other ways in which this music can be played.
Fanfare Magazine, 01-5-2024
(...) Minnaar is an excellent young pianist from whom we should expect great music in the future. The Beethoven brings an exciting, individual approach, best appreciated in the earlier concertos. The entire set, though, merits a recommendation.
American Record Guide, 01-3-2024
Hannes Minnaar on piano and Jan Willem de Vriend offer a very nuanced version of the concerts, charged with tension, with Minnaar's beautifully emphasized poetic imagery, which turns out to be thoroughly recommended.
Sonograma, 29-1-2024
Press
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 the 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 the disc with Concertos nos. 1 & 2 for “its pleasing mix of finesse and drive”.
Now the box also offers the so far unissued Concerto no. 3.
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 esprit de finesse that can be identified as the distinctive brand or these recordings.