Mozart: Concertos Pour Cor

Editorial Reviews
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Pride of place in this repertory will always belong to Dennis Brain, the greatest virtuoso the horn has ever known. Here his legendary agility, fluidity, evenness of tone, and musicality are readily apparent, undimmed by the haze of a 40-year-old monaural recording. Von Karajan draws elegant work from the Philharmonia strings, although the recording boxes them in somewhat and leaves the basses sounding a bit light. In this remastering, the engineers appear to have shaved something off the top in order to limit tape hiss. Even so, the disc is a must for anyone who's even slightly interested in this repertory or in the magic of Dennis Brain. --Ted Libbey

Amazon.com

Pride of place in this repertory will always belong to Dennis Brain, the greatest virtuoso the horn has ever known. Here his legendary agility, fluidity, evenness of tone, and musicality are readily apparent, undimmed by the haze of a 40-year-old monaural recording. Von Karajan draws elegant work from the Philharmonia strings, although the recording boxes them in somewhat and leaves the basses sounding a bit light. In this remastering, the engineers appear to have shaved something off the top in order to limit tape hiss. Even so, the disc is a must for anyone who's even slightly interested in this repertory or in the magic of Dennis Brain. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

From Ivan March's review in Gramophone.......2006-12-29

"Boyd Neel's oft-quoted comment that Dennis Brain was the finest Mozartian soloist of his generation comes readily to mind as one listens again to his 1954 recording of the four horn concertos. Of course Walter Legge, who admired his playing enormously, gave him an estimable advantage in securing Karajan to conduct the Philharmonia in the accompaniments. So many concerto records are spoiled by ineffective partnerships, but not this one.

"Again and again Karajan matches the graceful line of the solo phrasing (the Romanza of No. 3, K 7, is just one ravishing example), while in the allegros the crisply articulated, often witty comments from the Philharmonia violins are a joy. (For instance the Rondo of No. 2 K 17 or the dainty grace and tight, gossamer trills in the first movement of No. 4, K 95.) The glorious tone and the richly lyrical phrasing every note is alive--from Brain himself is life-enhancing in its radiant warmth. The flowing Andante of No. 2, the lovely Romanza of No. 3, and perhaps most enchanting of all the espressivo of the Romanza of No. 4. The Rondos have been much broadcast over the years by the BBC (Michael Flanders and Donald Swan did a marvellous parody of one of them, conscious that the tune was familiar to their listeners). They are not just spirited, buoyant, infectious and smiling, although they are all of these things, but they have the kind of natural flow that Beecham gave to Mozart.

"There is also much dynamic subtlety---Brain doesn't just repeat the main theme the same as the first time, but alters its level and colour. His legacy to the next generation of British horn players (and those that have followed on afterwards) was to show them that the horn---a notoriously difficult instrument---could be tamed absolutely and that it could yield a lyrical line and a range of colour to match any other solo instrument. He was snatched away from us in his prime (killed in a car accident while travelling home overnight from the Edinburgh Festival--his driving was as legendary as his playing on September 1st, 1957). He left us this supreme Mozartian testament which may be approached by others (indeed, Barry Tuckwell Alan Civil and more recently Michael Thompson have all done so) but never quite equalled, for his was uniquely inspirational music-making, with a quality something like innocence to make it the more endearing. This is one of the supreme bargains of EMI's distinguished and moderately priced References series."

W.A. Mozart: Concertos & Rondos Pour Cor

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W.A. Mozart: Concertos & Rondos Pour Cor

Manufacturer: Arion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000240AL

Tracks:

Con No.1 En D, K.V.412: Allegro
Con No.1 En D, K.V.412: Allegro
Con No.2 En E Flat, K.V.417: Allegro
Con No.2 En E Flat, K.V.417: Amdante
Con No.2 En E Flat, K.V.417: Rondo
Con No.3 En E Flat, K.V.447: Allegro
Con No.3 En E Flat, K.V.447: Romanza
Con No.3 En E Flat, K.V.447: Allegro
Con No.4 En E Flat, K.V.495: Allegro
Con No.4 En E Flat, K.V.495: Romanza
Con No.4 En E Flat, K.V.495: Rondo
Rondo En E Flat, K.V.371: Allegro
Rondo En D, K.V.514: Allegro

Mozart - Die 4 Hornkonzerte (Horn Concertos - Concertos Pour Cor) - Hermann Baumann - Concentus Musicus Wien - Nikolaus Harnoncourt

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Mozart - Die 4 Hornkonzerte (Horn Concertos - Concertos Pour Cor) - Hermann Baumann - Concentus Musicus Wien - Nikolaus Harnoncourt

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000SUH65Y

Product Description

TELDEC RECORDING [GERMAN IMPORT].

Average customer rating:

W.A. Mozart: Concertos & Rondos Pour Cor

Manufacturer: Arion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000TZN
Release Date: 1993-08-12

Tracks: