Buchbinder is an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gesellschaft
der Musikfreunde in Wien, the Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft, the Vienna Symphony
Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the first soloist to be awarded the Golden
Badge of Honor by the Staatskapelle Dresden.
His interpretations of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven in particular are regarded as
setting standards. With the edition BUCHBINDER:BEETHOVEN, Deutsche Grammophon
presents a complete recording of the 32 piano sonatas and the five piano concertos in the
run-up to Buchbinder's 75th birthday in December 2021, thus creating a sounding
monument to two outstanding Buchbinder-Beethoven cycles of recent times. Buchbinder
was the first pianist to play all of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas within one festival
summer at the 2014 Salzburg Festival. The Salzburg cycle was recorded live for DVD (Unitel)
and is now also available on nine CDs.
His recordings of Beethoven's Complete Piano Concertos document a truly remarkable
project. Staged as a series of concerts at the Vienna Musikverein, it was the first cycle of its
kind in the legendary hall’s 150-year history. Buchbinder was joined for the five concertos by
five of the world’s finest conductors and orchestras, namely the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Orchestra under Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons, the Vienna Philharmonic under
Riccardo Muti and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic and
the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under their chief conductors Mariss Jansons, Valery
Gergiev and Christian Thielemann.
As a contribution to Beethoven's 250th anniversary in 2020, Rudolf Buchbinder initiated a
cycle of new Diabelli Variations following the genesis of Beethoven's epochal Diabelli
Variations op. 120. In cooperation with eleven concert houses and festivals worldwide, and
with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, the new work was
commissioned from eleven leading composers of our time. The project reflects Beethoven's
work into the 21st century and impressively underlines the universality of his language
across all borders. Under the title "The Diabelli Project", Deutsche Grammophon released
the world premiere recording of the New Diabelli Variations alongside a new reading of
Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, which Buchbinder last recorded before in 1976. The double
album marked the beginning of his exclusive partnership with Deutsche Grammophon.