Concerto

Beethoven’s piano concertos are so different from each other that only the rarest of artists is likely to do full justice to all of them at any one time. Stewart Goodyear, Canadian-born and American-trained, presents his cycle in chronological sequence.

The First Concerto gives a fair perspective on what’s to come. Goodyear’s playing style is a masterclass in American-style confidence at its most likeable – free of any trace of brashness, with the quick outer movements full of engaging verve and articulated with immaculate: while there’s evident awareness of the music’s early-Romantic expressive depths, an over-insistence on outward Classical detachment seems to prevent these from coming across as they need to.