John O'Conor (piano), London Symphony Orchestra/Andreas Delfs Telarc 2CD-80704 (2 CDs for the price of one)****:  For the completion of John O'Conor's recordings of all five Beethoven piano concertos, Telarc has enterprisingly coupled three concertos on two discs for the price of one.

You won't find O'Conor engaging in the occasional edge or snap of Evgeny Kissin, or the extraordinarily imaginative caprice of Mikhail Pletnev, to make comparisons with two other recent cycles. His playing is altogether more centralist, almost as if he were abiding by Scottish soprano Isobel Baillie's motto to "never sing louder than lovely". The approach is much more concerned with certainties than with the exploratory angles that seem to attract more and more performers. The recorded sound is warmer and fuller than on his earlier disc. www.telarc.com