Mozart: Great Piano Concertos

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Decca has gotten around the perennial problem of filling Mozart Piano Concerto CDs by splitting No. 25 between two discs, giving us 155 minutes of Mozart for the price of a single top-line CD. The performances are top-line, too, if you like big-orchestra Mozart. Ashkenazy performs this music in a public, large-auditorium style, without the intimacy or niceties we hear from period instruments or from such pianists as Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida. His own cadenzas for three of the concertos are also very extroverted--and, alas, not very imaginative. Also, there are a few moments when the orchestra might have benefited from a firmer hand on the tiller than the pianist-conductor can provide. Overall, though, these are dramatic, involving Mozart performances, even if their style belongs more to the past than to the present. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 19 In F, KV 459: Allegro Vivace
Piano Concerto No. 19 In F, KV 459: Allegretto
Piano Concerto No. 19 In F, KV 459: Allegro Assai
Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, KV 466: Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, KV 466: Romance
Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, KV 466: Allegro Assai
Rondo In D, KV 382: Allegretto Grazioso
Rondo In D, KV 382: Adagio
Rondo In D, KV 382: Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 23 In A , KV 488: Allegro

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 23 In A, KV 488: Adagio
Piano Concerto No. 23 In A, KV 488: Allegro assai
Piano Concerto #21 In C, KV 467: Allegro
Piano Concerto #21 In C, KV 467: Andante
Piano Concerto #21 In C, KV 467: Allegro Vivace Assai
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, KV 491: Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, KV 491: Larghetto
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, KV 491: Allegretto
Rondo In A, KV 386

Customer Reviews:

cherry picking.......2007-02-15

Pity Alfred Brendel, Neville Marriner, and the incomparable Academy of St Martin in the Fields having to play this luscious span of concertos from the sweet spot of Mozart's oeuvre.

If there is sweeter music in the universe, it must lie at the depths of the sea or some equally inaccessible place, far from eyes and ears that could compare it to Mozart's piano concertos no. 19-24.

Mozart's piano concerti, perhaps more than those of any other composer, shape the solo instrument's phrasing so that its entrances and exits vis-à-vis the orchestral score are nearly seamless. Brendel and his supporting cast perform this aspect of the music as well as can be done.

In the stellar Philips Classics 'Duo' series, this recording may well reign supreme. It's as good as it gets.

Brendel and Marriner play Mozart at a bargain price.......2006-08-18

Philip's two double-CD sets of Alfred Brendel and Neville Marriner performing a total of ten of Mozart's great piano concertos, plus two rondos for piano and orchestra, must rate as one of the best of many bargains available in their "2 for 1" series. The four CDs add up to close to five hours of music, most of it essential listening for anyone interested in Mozart, great piano music, and great concertos.

This first of the two sets contains four indisputable masterpieces. In the stormy D minor Concerto K. 466, Brendel springs a mild surprise by playing his own cadenzas rather than Beethoven's, the ones most often used. I must confess to preferring Beethoven's unstylish but dramatic and imaginative cadenza to the first movement, but otherwise the performance is beyond reproach. Brendel adds some discreet and entirely appropriate ornamentation to the many repetitions of the second movement's main theme. The Olympian C major K. 467, with its incomparably beautiful slow movement, also receives some much-needed decoration: here the cadenzas are by Radu Lupu and are a bit quirkier than necessary. Although the soloist's tone and phrasing in the wistful K. 488 are ravishing in the first two movements, the starker phrases of the F-sharp minor Adagio are better left undecorated--for once Brendel's practically unerring sense of propriety in added ornamentation goes slightly off. In my opinion the best of a superb set of performances is that of the C minor, K. 491: Brendel and Marriner catch every nuance of tragedy while never slighting the grace of the music--the problem of writing an appropriate first-movement cadenza, difficult since Mozart left none of his own, is brilliantly solved here by the soloist.

Although in a set billed as Mozart's "Great Piano Concertos" I might have opted, narrowly, for including K. 453 in G major over K. 459, it cannot be denied that all involved seem perfectly attuned to the quicksilver energy and unexpected contrapuntal intricacies of the F major work. The two additional rondo movements, one a lightweight replacement for the original finale of Mozart's very first original piano concerto, the other a possible alternate finale to his earlier A major Concerto K. 414, are a delightful bonus. Incidentally, although the splitting of K. 488 across two generously filled CDs is an annoyance, timing restrictions would not have permitted cramming three complete concertos onto one CD as another review suggests.

Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 1 Alfred Brendel.......2006-07-10

Nice interpretation of Mozart's piano concerto.

Mozart's great piano concertos, Vol 1 and Vol 2.......2006-07-10

We love Mozart. Especially his piano concertos. We purchased these volumes, because we wore out our cassette tapes.
Mozart piano concertos performed by Arthur Brendel and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, It does not get much better than that. 5 hours of music as a very reasonable price!

I even ordered a second set to give to a friend.

great pianist, great price, bad track listing.......2006-02-16

Alfred Brendel is one of the world's most famous pianists, but not for reasons that make Argerich, Paderewski, or Rubinstein famous. Brendel is an expert both artistically and technically but he is not given to highly individualistic interpretations that rattle purists and create controversy. In other words, Brendel is a highly reliable pianist. Like Murray Perahia, there are no let downs in his recorded performances. For this and the price, no one should pass up this 2 disc recording.

The only downside is the recording's track listing. Piano Concerto No. 23 is split: its first movement is in the first disc while its last two movements are in the second. Bewildering especially since the piano concertos are not sequenced chronologically. And the insert doesn't help. It does not explain the track arrangement (is it by the year of recording? by importance in Mozart's ouvre?). Nonetheless, there it is, Piano Concerto No. 23 separated into two cds. Why this has to be is difficult to understand. The first movement, allegro, is 11.04 minutes long; in the second disc, a one movement rondo, Rondo in A, KV 386, is 8.32 minutes long. Why wasn't this rondo placed in the first disc to allow a seamless playing of Piano Concerto No. 23?

This is annoying if your player does not support multiple disc playing. I bought this 2 cd set specifically for Piano Concerto No. 23, whose second movement I love. It is one of the most sublime of piano adagios, up there with the second movements of Chopin no. 1, Rachmaninoff no. 2, Shostakovich no. 2. And I bought it specifically for Brendel's performance with the ASMITF, conducted by Neville Marriner. Brendel really makes the piano weep here. His evocations of a human's cycle of grief and redemption make the performance definitive for Piano Concerto No. 23. If the split won't bother you, do yourself a favor and get a copy.

Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 2 Alfred Brendel
Marvelous Mozart
Artistic Genius
Almost Perfect
Penguin Guide "Recommended Recording"

Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 1
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ASIN: B0000041AB
Release Date: 1994-10-11

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.9 In Flat, KV 271 (Jeunehomme): 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.9 In Flat, KV 271 (Jeunehomme): 2. Andantino
Piano Concerto No.9 In Flat, KV 271 (Jeunehomme): 3. Rondeau. Presto
Piano Concerto No.25 In C, KV 503: 1. Allegro maestoso
Piano Concerto No.25 In C, KV 503: 2. Andante
Piano Concerto No.25 In C, KV 503: 3. Allegretto
Piano Concerto No.22 In E Flat, KV 482: 1. Allegro

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 22 In E Flat, KV 482: 2. Andante
Piano Concerto No. 22 In E Flat, KV 482: Allegro - Andante cantabile - Tempo I
Piano Concerto No. 15 In B Flat, KV 450: 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 15 In B Flat, KV 450: 2. (Andante)
Piano Concerto No. 15 In B Flat, KV 450: 3. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 27 In B Flat, KV 595: 1. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 27 In B Flat, KV 595: 2. Larghetto
Piano Concerto No. 27 In B Flat, KV 595: 3. Allegro

Customer Reviews:

Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 2 Alfred Brendel.......2006-07-10

Nice interpretation of Mozart's piano concerto.

Marvelous Mozart.......2006-06-29

Alfred Brendel's place as an interpreter of the Viennese Classic repertory is by now unassailable, and his recordings of the Mozart Piano Concertos are a prime example of his art. His lean, focused sound can strike a listener as insufficiently sensuous in Romantic repertory, but against the backdrop of an orchestra, it seems a perfect modern equivalent of the eighteenth-century fortepiano, so much so that I don't really miss having an "authentic" instrument. Besides, discarding recordings such as these on the basis of inauthenticity would deny all listeners the chance to experience Brendel's practically infallible sense of style and taste.

Perhaps the real surprise in this collection of five concertos is that Brendel is at his most relaxed and insightful in the E-flat major Concerto, K. 482, which in most critical canons occupies a slightly lower place than the works which come before and after it. Mozart's warm-hearted and colorfully orchestrated (clarinets instead of the usual oboes) piece brings out an equivalent and unexpected playfulness of dynamic and rhythm in the pianist's irresistible reading, with profuse but always appropriate ornamentation in the rondo, and intriguing, stylish original cadenzas for the first and last movements. Incidentally, the same virtues hold for all of Brendel's emendations to Mozart's original notes in these pieces; in this he is decidely superior to Ashkenazy in his Mozart concerto recordings. (The one drawback of this entire set is that the inclusion of five concertos necessitates splitting K. 482 between the first and second CDs.)

It is only by these exalted standards that the performances of K. 271, the dashing "Jeunehomme," pushing the boundaries of standard concerto form with its unexpected piano interjections at the outset, and the Olympian K. 503 come off as slightly stiffer and less attuned to the finest nuance; however, the latter performance was recorded live and astonishes with its digital clarity, the concluding roar of applause being amply justified.

Brendel's collaborators, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields with Neville Marriner, supply exemplary accompaniments, notwithstanding some slight inaccuracies in the live K. 503 and, more surprisingly, K. 595. One hopes these recordings will be available for a long time to come.

Artistic Genius.......2006-05-31

Mozart is rightly hailed as a musical genius. Some say he was the best that ever was. I personally prefer Bach and baroque organ fugues but this CD is a good argument for the Mozart partisans.

In the first place, the compositions are excellent. Mozart was a genius and it shows. In the second place, the performances preserved here are exquisite. The recordings are clear and vibrant.

It is a first class album all around.

Almost Perfect.......2006-02-19

If you love Mozart you will really enjoy this CD. In my opinion Sir Neville Marriner & the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields performs Mozart better than any other. The only problem I have with this CD is some tracks on the first CD are recorded live. I have never been a big fan of live recordings. An occasional cough is heard on track 4 which makes me cringe. If only they passed out cough drops that evening I would have awarded this CD five stars. Otherwise the music is simply sublime. Robitussin anyone?

Penguin Guide "Recommended Recording".......2006-01-22

With his 27 piano concertos, Mozart developed the form to a new level of artistry and claimed dominion of the new musical genre. The first seven concertos resulted from early composition exercises from his father converting Baroque sonatas to concerto form (most not-so-special). The first truly-original piano concerto No. 5 was composed at age 17 and No.'s 14-27 are all considered mature and monumental with anything in the 20's truly magnificant. Even works as early as No. 9 "Jeunehomme" (composed for a female French student, Mlle. Jeunehomme, perhaps a love interest) reveal an uncharacteristic maturity, depth of beauty and perfection of form for such a young composer. While most of the 27 concertos are sunny and galante, the two minor-key concertos (No. 20 & 24 on Volume I) reveal Mozart's evolution into more personal, dramatic expression - foreshadowing the Romantic era ushered in part by Beethoven. However, by the late 1780's, the fickle Vieneese who were "so done" with his music, leading to Mozart's demise. Late in Mozart's life there appeared to be a "new phase" of introspection and simplicity as seen in the poignant last Concerto #27 (along with his last chamber works). But this was sadly cut short by his early death in 1791.

These readings by Brendel and Marriner are alive with enthusiasm, warmth, and the typical Brendel precision. The balance of the piano and orchestra is perfect and allow the drama to unfold unhindered. Along with Murray Perahia's and Andras Schiff's complete cycles, Brendel's performances of Mozart's piano concertos are considered - on the whole - to be at the top of the list overall. Highlights in Vol. II here must certainly be the simple beauty and chamber-like feel of Concerto No. 9 "Jeunehomme," the sparkling No. 22 (K.482) and the poignant "swansong" concerto, No. 27 (K. 595). Where volume II features these two more subdued concertos of immense tenderness (no timpani or trumpets), Volume I contains the powerfully emotive, crowd-pleasing D-minor and C-minor concertos No. 20, 24 - along with the famous and bubbly C-major concerto. Both volumes are essential listening, but that much might guide your first purchase if you can only get one set.

The six works on these two CD's (along with those of the sister set) are among the most skillfully composed, musically appealing and rightfully popular of Mozart's 27 piano concertos (hence the term, "Great Concertos"). Both sets received the highest Penguin Guide rating (Rosette) and are an official "Recommended Recording." Nice compliment. Additionally, Gramophone says "this set can be recommended without any reservations." The value and sound quality/balance are excellent (as with most all Philips DUO label CD's).

For those who like the sound of a Mozart-era fortepiano and more "period performances," there is a splendid 9-CD "complete" set of Mozart's piano concertos (no.'s 5-27) by Malcolm Bilson and the English Baroque Soloists w/ Sir John Gardiner conducting that is both top-notch music and a super value on DG. Also, if you are building a Mozart collection, many of these Philips' DUO sets are excellent choices and in the top-tier of quality: Great Serenades (Marriner), Piano Quartets (Beaux Arts Trio), Piano Trios (Beaux Art Trio), Violin concertos (Grumiaux), Violin Sonatas (Szeryng/Haebler), and Complete Quintets I, II (Grumiaux et al).

Average customer rating:

Excellent and inexpensive
Satisfying, "old-school" Mozart
Pretty Good
EXCELLENT SELECTION AND INTERPRETATIONS
Ashkenazy on a Classical era adventure...

Mozart: Great Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Tchaikovsky: Symphony 6 "Pathétique" in B minor Op. 74

ASIN: B0000041LF
Release Date: 1997-08-26

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K467: I. Allegro maestoso
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K467: II. Andante
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K467: III. Allegro vivace assai
Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor, K491: I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor, K491: II. Larghetto
Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor, K491: III. Allegretto
Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503: I. Allegro maestoso

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503: II. Andante
Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503: III. Allegretto
Piano Concerto No.23 In A Major, K488: I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.23 In A Major, K488: II. Adagio
Piano Concerto No.23 In A Major, K488: III. Allegro assai
Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K466: I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K466: II. Romance
Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K466: III. Rondo Allegro assai

Amazon.com

Decca has gotten around the perennial problem of filling Mozart Piano Concerto CDs by splitting No. 25 between two discs, giving us 155 minutes of Mozart for the price of a single top-line CD. The performances are top-line, too, if you like big-orchestra Mozart. Ashkenazy performs this music in a public, large-auditorium style, without the intimacy or niceties we hear from period instruments or from such pianists as Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida. His own cadenzas for three of the concertos are also very extroverted--and, alas, not very imaginative. Also, there are a few moments when the orchestra might have benefited from a firmer hand on the tiller than the pianist-conductor can provide. Overall, though, these are dramatic, involving Mozart performances, even if their style belongs more to the past than to the present. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Excellent and inexpensive.......2007-05-29

These are fabulous performances that contain all the richness, depth, and emotional movement of Mozart's best (or, one could say, most famous) piano concertos. Especially great are the performances of the 21st, 25th, and the 23rd. The 23rd on disc 2 is by far the best one I've ever heard.

This is a great buy!

Ashkenazy has a knack for putting together all that listeners want on convenient two disc sets...and they rarely disappoint. See his "Favourite Beethoven Piano Sonatas" for a similar treat.

Satisfying, "old-school" Mozart.......2005-05-07

Vladimir Ashkenazy's complete cycle of Mozart piano concertos was originally issued in the late 70s-early 80s, and holds up well, on the evidence of this bargain-priced 2-CD set of five of the most famous of these works. The pianist's approach tends toward the large-scale and deliberate. This works particularly well in the majestic C major Concerto K. 503 (one is made aware of how this work influenced Beethoven's own G major Concerto) and the tragic C minor work, K. 491. He is supported by beautiful playing from the Philharmonia Orchestra, whose strings lend a magical sheen to the Romantic melodies of the famous "Elvira Madigan" slow movement of K. 467. Ashkenasy's playing is fittingly sparkling in passagework and as transparent as a modern Steinway concert grand can be. By today's standards of historical performance the orchestra is large, some of the slow movements could have used a bit more ornamentation, and the pianist's own cadenzas to K. 467, 491 and 503 wander a bit too far afield harmonically; but these are small quibbles in otherwise enjoyable performances.

Pretty Good.......2005-04-28

I grew up listening to Rudolph Serkin play these pieces. He will always be the gold standard on Mozart piano concertos as far as I'm concerned. I gave this album 3 stars instead of 4 solely for Ashkenazy's weak play on the 3rd movement of the 20th Concerto. It didn't have the passion or fire I've come to expect from that movement. In fact, me personally, I think the whole set lacks a certain fire. I don't claim to be an expert, but his work on Mozart is nowhere near as good as his work on Beethoven. And other masters are much better at Mozart, in my opinion.

EXCELLENT SELECTION AND INTERPRETATIONS.......2004-03-04

I received this 2 cd set as a gift and have played it many times - especially the slow movements which are so ethereal and soul-wrenching - and notably Vladimir Ashkenazy's interpretations of the concertos numbers 23, 24, and 20.

The pianist is ably assisted by the incomparable Philharmonia Orchestra and the sound - for the most part - is more than adequate. Three of the concertos are DDD and two are ADD - but that does not detract in any way from the excellence of Ashkenazy's "view" on Mozart nor do the transfers diminish the artistry of Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

A great buy and one that should be in all collections even if you have other interpretations; he even surpasses Alfred Brendel at times in some of the concertos - notably Nr. 23 in A major, K488

Timothy Wingate from Ottawa, Canada

Ashkenazy on a Classical era adventure..........2004-02-26

Hi to All

I am a very conservative fan of Mozart. I always buy one work from different performers to find the best for my soul...If the topic is Mozart I examine more carefully...I was very worried about Ashkenazy's Mozart interpretation before I listen to this cd...After I listened this cd I saw that there was nothing to get worried about :)
I always see and feel Ashkenazy as the king of the romantic era...He gives a great feeling to this Era's music...he touches to your soul..that was why I was worrying about his performance on Mozart...Because Classical era has a very different style of performing...and Mozart has much more difference even its in own era...on this cd we see the influence of his romantic interpretation...but it doesnt disturb you...it even adds something new to the mozart soul...maybe I felt this because of the piano's tone but sometimes you feel like it has to continue like a chopin ballade or a rachmaninov prelude...
Overall it is a touching performance of Mozart's piano concertos...especially in the second movement of 23th piano concerto in A maj...but it is not a mozartaen kind...
Romantic interpretation of this Great Music...something different and sounds nice...

M. Can EL

Mozart: Great Piano Concertos, Nos. 20, 21, 25 & 27 [Germany]
Average customer rating:
Mozart: Great Piano Concertos, Nos. 20, 21, 25 & 27 [Germany]
Gulda , Abbado , and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Schubert, Debussy / Rostropovich, Britten

ASIN: B000009MBI
Release Date: 1997-04-01

Tracks:

Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K 466 -D-Moll Kv 466 En Re Mineur In Re Minore En Menor / Allegro
Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K 466 -D-Moll Kv 466 En Re Mineur In Re Minore En Menor / Romance
Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K 466 -D-Moll Kv 466 En Re Mineur In Re Minore En Menor / Rondo
Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 C-Dur Kv 467 En Ut Majeur In Do Maggiore En Do Mayor / Allegro
Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 C-Dur Kv 467 En Ut Majeur In Do Maggiore En Do Mayor / Andante
Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 C-Dur Kv 467 En Ut Majeur In Do Maggiore En Do Mayor Allegrovivace
Concerto No.25 In C Flat Major, K.503 / Allegro Maestoso
Concerto No.25 In C Flat Major, K.503 / Andante
Concerto No.25 In C Flat Major, K.503 / Allegretto
Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K.595 / Allegro
Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K.595 / Larghetto
Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K.595 / Allegro

Average customer rating:

Mozart: Great Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Pno Con No.23 in A, K.488: Allegro - Daniel Gerard
Pno Con No.23 in A, K.488: Andante - Daniel Gerard
Pno Con No.23 in A, K.488: Presto - Daniel Gerard
Pno Con No.21 in C, K.467, 'Elvira Madigan': II. Andante - Vilmos Fischer
Pno Con No.26 in D, K.537: I. Allegro - Gyula Kiss
Pno Con No.17 in G, K.453: II. Andante - Vilmos Fisher
Pno Con No.12 in A, K.414:III. Allegretto - Zoltan Kocsis

Average customer rating:

The very finest account of K266, to my humble ears
Not to be missed
Finally! The Denis Matthews recordings of the Minor-Key Concerti on CD!
Brendel, born in Zagreb Croatia, plays with the Zagreb

W.A. Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: Vanguard Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0000ADXFN
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Tracks:

Allegro - Alfred Brendel
Andantino - Alfred Brendel
Rondeau: Presto-Menuetto-Presto - Alfred Brendel
Allegro - Friedrich Gulda
Andante - Friedrich Gulda
Allegretto - Friedrich Gulda

Tracks:

Allegro - Denis Matthews
Larghetto - Denis Matthews
Allegretto - Denis Matthews
Allegro - Vienna State Opera Orchestra
Romance - Vienna State Opera Orchestra
Rondo: Allegro Assai - Vienna State Opera Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

The very finest account of K266, to my humble ears.......2007-07-13

Mozart's D Minor Piano Concerto was the piece that sparked the very first flames of an intense lifelong passion for classical music. I must have been about 15 years old when a wonderful teacher I had in high school loaned me a recording of Serkin and the Columbia Symphony Orcherstra performing the 19th and 20th concerti under the baton of George Szell. The 20th has haunted me ever since I first heard those beautifully anguished opening bars drawn out in syncopated sighs by the orchestra. Over the years I have listened to and purchased several accounts of this titanic work. Among my favorites are those of Clifford Curzon with the English Chamber Orchestra under Benjamin Britten, Arthur Rubinstein with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra under Alfred Wallenstein, and Alicia De Larrocha with the English Chamber Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis. This recording, however - notwithstanding those abovementioned - is truly a rare gem. Mathew Davis was heretofore unbeknownst to me, but on the basis of the strong recommendations this recording received I decided it was worth purchasing. I am in complete accord with the positive reviews posted before me. The opening Allegro is perfectly judged, the balance between orchestra and soloist epidemizing equality in a dialogue that distinguishes it from the C Minor Concerto. Matthews plays with touching emotion but never oversteps the bounds appropriate to the classical form of the work. The Romanza is an especially poignant musical masterpiece. He sings it with such beautiful, heartfelt expression. There are some added trills and grace notes that I am not used to hearing (the closest thing to it I know is found in Curzon's recording of it with Britten) and the experience is truly a moving one. Finally, in the Allegro Assai he carries the great tragic weight of the piece upward on such graceful wings of sound, out of the darkness and into that final major-key sunburst of a finale that makes this piece so uniquely Mozartian. Of course, such enthusiastic reviews are to be found of a good number of the abundant renditions of this work. Beauty is in the ear of the listener when it comes to music. I am of the belief that there is really no such thing as a definitive recording because the beauty of classical music is that it is a matter of interpretation. It is music that breathes new life each time it is played and the differences between one man's interpretation and another's are what keep it so interesting. I will continue to listen to all of the recordings I own, but this one, for me personally, lets the music truly shine of its own worth. Matthews is neither too controlled nor too romantic, but just right. I hope others will enjoy this fine recording as much as I do.

Not to be missed.......2007-03-06

Fantastic performances, especially the minor key concertos. Matthews is brilliant, as is the orchestra. Chamber-music like quality that is too often missed with some of the better known performances - and isn't this where Mozart's piano concertos defy analysis -- symphonic chamber music> This CD is a must have.

Finally! The Denis Matthews recordings of the Minor-Key Concerti on CD!.......2006-09-28

This double-disc release contains, on disc one, a wonderful performance of Mozart's earliest piano concerto masterwork, the "Jeunehomme Concerto" no. 9, K. 271. The soloist is one of the great pianists of the 20th Century, Alfred Brendel, and the orchestra the wonderful Solisti di Zagreb (who, also on Vanguard, have a splendid performance of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons). The Friedrich Gulda performance of Concerto no. 17 is also fine. But to me the splendor of this release is disc 2, which contains what are to me the greatest recordings of the two minor key Mozart Concerti, no. 20 in D Minor K. 466, and no. 24 in C Minor, K. 491, which have been unavailable for many years. Now, I own more than half a dozen other recordings of each of these two legendary concerti; and some are good, even very very good: but virtually every one has seemed to me inferior when compared to the recordings in this issue. True, the sound is a bit dated (though the engineers have done an excellent job restoring and digitalizing it). It is the performances that are magisterial. The pianist is one who is sadly largely forgotten today even by the classical music-loving pubic: the great Sir Denis Matthews. And the orchestra and conductor are equally brilliant: Hans Swarowsky leading the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.

The performances of both minor-key concerti are splendid: perfectly judged as to tempi, as to the balance between orchestra and piano, and as to the balance between winds and strings; both the ensemble and the individual playing of the members of the orchestra is wonderful. And Matthews is flawless. Not only as a performer and interpreter: mention must also be made of the cadenzas he wrote and here performs in the C Minor, K. 491-- the first movement cadenza perfectly gauged as to length, the one in the finale only a few bars, which is equally perfect for its place. (He plays the wonderful Beethoven cadenzas for the D Minor.) Unlike cadenzas written and performed by many other pianists (which out of kindness I will forbear listing), which tend not to be in a style fully harmonized with that of Mozart, Matthews' are excellent and perfectly in tune with Classical style. Also, some cadenzas I have heard incorporate material that is not in Mozart's score, and hence sound out of place, even jarring: not so with Matthews', which not only use Mozart's themes and figurations, but do so in a particularly felicitous way.

A word or two about the concerti themselves. The "Jeunehomme" begings with what was an audacious touch: the first phrase of the opening theme is stated in the orchestra and the answering phrase in the piano. This is repeated; and then the piano is silent until the second exposition. Beethoven would later use a similar technique but with utterly different effect, in his Fourth Concerto in G. The two minor key concerti here are among Mozart's greatest masterpieces, and are also very different. The C Minor is inward, brooding, and shares a very unusual quality with Beethoven's fourth in that both are almost like chamber music: there is no sense of conflict between the piano and orchestra, rather there is complete partnership. (They are utterly different in nearly every other respect.) Mozart sweated over this C-minor concerto-- he did an enormous amount of revision and rewriting, very uncharacteristic of him. The woodwind writing is particularly wonderful throughout. The opening movement, from its dark unison statement of the theme at the outset, is troubled and turbulent. The slow movement is a respite; the finale is, in fact, one of Mozart's greatest. It is a theme and variations, but it has a mood which is unique, quite unlike anything else Mozart wrote. It is also dark but has a melancholy resignation about it that even the two major key variations cannot dispel. Yet this melancholy is almost painfully moving. (Beethoven was once observed, listening to this movement, his face rapt, his head swaying, and he said to a friend, "Ah, we shall never write anything like this!") It is almost the mournful song of suffering humanity. One critic once tried to verbalize its complex melancholy as being like "a young widow who thinks she is hiding her grief from the world, but whose grief nevertheless is painfully obvious." After the short cadenza, the final variation-cum-coda, in 6/8 time, is first rueful, then passionately dark, and the movement ends in a wave of minor key vehemence. This is exceptionally unusual for the Classical period, which had a preference for major keys in general: even in Mozart's numerically rare minor key works, he almost never ends a work in minor-- this concerto, and the famous Great G minor Symphony no. 40, are two striking exceptions. I have never heard another rendering of this finale to the C Minor that equals, perhaps even approaches, the one here included, both for its lucidity, lyricism, passion, and melancholy. The D Minor is equally dark, but it is more public. Still, again, Mozart achieves something in the movement's start quite unlike anything else he or others have written. Where the C Minor began in unison, the D Minor opens with an extremely complex, extremely syncopated, texture of oddly stressed individual musical lines, through which the theme, which is surprisingly simple (a smoothly stepping theme, as opposed to the angular and chromatic one of the C Minor), emerges almost imperceptibly at first: turbulent, passionately dark. The slow movement is a Romanza of suprising felicity, though there is a dark central section. The finale begins equally dark but moves inexorably into the light, ending with a jubilantly happy major-key coda.

In short, these two performances represent what are in my opinion the very finest realizations of Mozart's C and D Minor concerti on record, the many other excellent later versions notwithstanding. I have been waiting for 15 years for them to be issued on CD-- thank you, finally, Vanguard! And the price is excellent. Even if you have recordings of these works, I urge you to hear these. You will want to have them in your collection-- and I think you will end up going to them habitually when you want to experience Mozart's great tragic concerti! So don't hesitate-- who knows how long it will remain in print?

Brendel, born in Zagreb Croatia, plays with the Zagreb.......2004-07-05

Very few know that Alfred Brendel was born in Zagreb Croatia, and here he plays with the Zagreb Soloists! Great recordings, great music! For more music with Antonio Janigro, visit antoniojanigro.com

Mozart: Great Piano Concertos [Australia]

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Mozart: Great Piano Concertos [Australia]
Schiff , Vegh , and Camerata Academica Des Mozarteums Salzburg
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000AN1A0
Release Date: 2003-11-20

Tracks:

1-3 Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor, K491
4-6 Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503
7- Piano Concerto No.16 In D Major, K451 (I)
1-2 Piano Concerto No.16 In D Major, K451 (Ii & Iii)
3-5 Piano Concerto No.26 In D Major, K537 "Coronation"
6-8 Piano Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K595

Album Details

Andras Schiff's Mozart Cycle with the Camerta Academica Des Mozarteums Salzburg and Sándor Végh was Recorded Between 1987 and 1993 and Quickly Came to Be Recognised as One of the Finest Cycles to Be Recorded During the Digital Era and Using Modern Instruments.this 2-CD Set Focuses on the Last Four Concertos with the Addition of No.16 (K451) and Provides an Excellent Selection of Concertos Drawn from the Complete Cycle. As Well as a Useful Catalogue Item and Strong Addition to the Double Decca Catalogue, this Set also Acts as a Superb Reminder of Andras Schiff's Wonderful Mozart Interpretations as He Approaches his 50th Birthday on 21st December 2003.

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Great Concertos, Not So Great Box Set

Great Piano Concertos

Manufacturer: Umvd Labels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
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Dvorák: The Symphonies

ASIN: B00008CLIH
Release Date: 2003-10-14

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.2 In C Minor, Op.18
Piano Concerto No.3 In D Minor, Op.30
Piano Concerto No.6 In B Flat, K.238
Piano Concerto No.8 In C, K.246 "Lzow"
Piano Concerto No.9 In E Flat, K.271 - "Jeunehomme"
Concert Rondo For Piano And Orchestra In D. K.382
Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K.466
Piano Concerto No.27 In B Flat, K.595
Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23
Piano Concerto No.2 In F Minor, Op.21
Concerto For Harpsichord, Strings, And Continuo No.1 In D Minor, Bwv 1052
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.83
Piano Concerto No.4 In G, Op.58
Piano Concerto No.5 In E Flat Major Op.73 -"Emperor"
Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op.54
Introduction & Allegro Appassionato For Piano & Orchestra, Op.92
Concert Allegro With Introduction In D Minor, Op.134
Alexander Scriabin
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op.43
Piano Concerto No.3, Bb 127, Sz. 119
Prometh - Le Poe Du Feu, Op.60
Piano Concerto No.1, Bb 91, Sz. 83
Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No.2, Bb 101, Sz. 95
Piano Concerto No.1 In D Flat, Op.10
Piano Concerto No.2 In G Minor, Op.16
Piano Concerto No.21 In C, K.467

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Great Concertos, Not So Great Box Set.......2004-04-29

The fact that Vladimir Ashkenazy is one of the great pianists of the 20th Century is not open for debate. His performances of Mozart, Prokofiev and Rachmaninov in particular are among the very best ever recorded, and his Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky aren't far behind. Whether some of his better recordings should have been collected on this boxed set to celebrate his forty-year association with Decca, most certainly is up for debate.

I know that limited edition collector's sets focusing on venerable artists, instead of the traditional box sets focused on a specific composer, have been very profitable lately -- like those in the "Original Masters" series (see my reviews). But what distinguishes those sets from Ashkenazy's is the abundance of rare material, often never before released on CD. This 11 CD set only features one previously unissued performance, included on a "bonus CD" that is only 29 minutes in length -- Mozart's 21st Piano Concerto with Ashkenazy playing and conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. (A performance with the Philharmonia of No. 21 is included on Ashkenazy's Double Decca title and box set of the Piano Concerto Cycle.) It also features two performances in their "first international release" -- Schumann's "Introduction & Allegro appasionato" and "Concerto Allegro with Introduction," both with Uri Segal leading the LSO. The remainder of the recordings have all been available on CD previously -- the Rach 2 & 3 on Decca Legends, the Prokofievs on a Double Decca, the Tchaikovsky & Chopin PC2 in the Penguin Classics series, the Beethovens on a London/Decca box of the Piano Concertos, etc. Yes, some of the material is now out-of-print as single-discs -- the early Mozart Concertos with Kertesz and Schmidt-Isserstedt, and the Bach 1052 with Zinman were available in the old "Classic Sound" series -- but serious collectors most likely bought those initial offerings years ago before they were deleted.

So I guess my question is, whom does the Universal Music Group think will buy this set? The title "Collector's Edition" assumes collectors like me will, but I'm not trading in my single CD titles at the used store just to pay more money for one unissued Mozart performance! Therefore, this set must be aimed at entry-level fans, but most of them are not going to pay this much for their classical music either. And if they are curious about Ashkenazy as a performer, surely starting with a less comprehensive title makes more sense. You'd think by now UNI, with all its vast resources and labels, would have a better handle on their fan base, yet they prove once again that they do not.