Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos.20 & 21

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Rudolf Serkin recorded this music to much greater effect on Sony. By the time he got around to these remakes, the octogenarian pianist was well past his best form, and he wasn't helped by Claudio Abbado's soft-focused accompaniments, nor by DG's overmiked digital sound. Of course, nothing this splendid keyboard artist undertook was actually bad, but you only have to listen to his own earlier performances to realize just how much less successful he is here. --David Hurwitz

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos.20 & 21,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Claudio Abbado,London Symphony Orchestra,Deutsche Grammophon,Classical,Classical Composers,Classical Music,Concerto,Piano Concerto

Average customer rating: The best Concerto No.20 (K466) available Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 Wonderful! Yummy, some delicious moments Genial

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Uchida, Mitsuko | ( U ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Uchida, Mitsuko | ( U ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 22 & 23 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 26 & 27 Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25 Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 35-41 Beethoven: Symphonien Nos. 5 & 7 / Kleiber, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra ASIN: B0000040XU Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor: 1. Allegro
2. Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor: 2. Romance
3. Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor: 3. Allegro Assai
4. Concerto No. 21 In C, KV 467: 1. Allegro
5. Concerto No. 21 In C, KV 467: 2. Andante
6. Concerto No. 21 In C, KV 467: 3. Allegro Vivace Assai

Amazon.com essential recording

Mozart's greatest piano concertos bring together so many elements identified with his style that they offer an ideal introduction to their composer's uniqueness. This is especially the case with the well-loved pair Nos. 20 and 21, which were produced in one fertile outburst in 1785. Here you will find both the dramatic flair and the comic high spirits of Mozart's tragic and comic operas, the last symphonies' breadth and polyphonic ingenuity (especially in the lengthy first movement of No. 21), and the conversational intimacy of the chamber music. This recording is one of several collaborations between conductor Jeffrey Tate and Mitsuko Uchida. In the wake of such legendary interpreters as Clifford Curzon, the Japanese pianist established a reputation in the '80s as one of the finest contemporary Mozarteans for her combination of poetic sensitivity and thoughtful involvement. Uchida plays with characteristic poise and never settles for superficial prettiness of sound (notice, for example, the sense of suspense she brings to the extended trill left hovering shortly into the soloist's entrance in No. 21). The restless, tragic momentum of No. 20 glows with inner fire, while Uchida's singing grace of line conveys an almost vocal warmth. There is sympathetic balance of soloist against orchestra (which features superb contributions from the winds), as well as a sure grasp of Mozart's larger structural symmetries. As an alternative to the extremes of period-instrument orthodoxy and romantic excess, this disc belongs in the collection of any lover of Mozart. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

The best Concerto No.20 (K466) available.......2007-05-03

I've listened to interpretations from Brendel, Anda, Barenboim, Arrau, and countless others, and I have to say after careful considerations that this version with Uchida and Tate is simply the best. I've noticed that the others all take the 2nd movement too fast, whereas the true beauty is fully revealed when played slower, as it is done here.

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21.......2006-11-12

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a brilliant recording and Uchida does such a fine job playing the piano the Mozart himself would have been pleased. Jeffrey Tate also does a bang up job and one most give him praise for his fine work on this recording. Mozart's music is so accomplished and refined that only three other composers can even said to come close to his talent and skill (Beethoven, Bach and Wagner). Mozart has the ability to make his music sound very simple and easy to play but if one examines a score for a piece written by Mozart then one realizes the complexity and nuances that Mozart is able to put into his "simple" sounding music. This recording per se is a stroke of true brilliance and I definitely give it 5 out of 5 stars without any reservations whatsoever.

Wonderful!.......2004-05-29

Mozart was one of a kind! Truly beautiful piano work.

JM

Yummy, some delicious moments.......2003-01-12

As the saying goes, "Mozart is Music" and Uchida is Mozart! On this recording, you have two of the most popular Mozart piano concertos in modern performance(that is, played on a very big grand piano--not a fortepiano as they would've been in Mozart's day).

Uchida is crisp and technically correct, though perhaps, as some other reviewers have noted,lacking the passion of other artists' recordings. In the familiar No. 21 ("Elvira Madigan") the cadenzas are Uchidas. In No. 20 the cadenzas are Beethovens--thrilling!

The recording sounds as if it was done in a marble hall of a very grand Chateau, although it was probably done in Waltham Town Hall, London, with some discrete manipulation of the sound. The result is rich and resonant.

I'd personally recommend this for a classical music enthusiast who wanted just one CD of Mozart concertos. But perhaps its even better as a slightly obscure recording to give to a friend who already has a CD by another pianist. It's worth it for the track 3 cadenza alone.

Genial.......2002-01-26

I'm okay with Samantha's comments about the conjuntion betwen orchestra and solo (Uchida). They are in occasions at different intensity or dinamic. Orchestra was a little short. I recommend so the Geza Anda's version of the 21 concerto (sublime).

Average customer rating: Amazing, as always FANTASTIC! Breathtaking Cool, clean Mozart

Mozart: Piano Concertos nos. 271, 453, and 466 / Davies, Jarrett Manufacturer: Ecm Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Jarrett, Keith | ( J ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Handel: Suites for Keyboard Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues op. 87 / Jarrett The Carnegie Hall Concert Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 / Keith Jarrett Bach: Goldberg Variations / Keith Jarrett ASIN: B00000K2WP Release Date: 1999-10-05

Tracks:

1. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 20 In D Minor K.466: Allegro
2. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 20 In D Minor K.466: Romance
3. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 20 In D Minor K.466: Allegro assai
4. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 17 In G Major K.453: Allegro
5. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 17 In G Major K.453: Andante
6. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 17 In G Major K.453: Alegretto - Finale: Presto

Tracks:

1. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 9 In E-flat Major K.271: Allegro
2. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 9 In E-flat Major K.271: Andantino
3. Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 9 In E-flat Major K.271: Rondeau: Presto
4. Adagio And Fugue In C Minor K.546 For String Orchestra

Amazon.com

For many, Keith Jarrett is still best known for his jazz forays: extended yet gorgeous improvisations at the keyboard that literally hypnotize listeners (and helped fund ECM, still the artist's label of choice). So, it would be easy to expect Jarrett to deliver a seat-of-your-pants, highly improvised interpretation of these three Mozart piano concertos. You'd be wrong, however. Jarrett's performance on these works is deft and delicate. Meanwhile, Dennis Russell Davies and the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester can be heard loud and clear (and in fine form, it should be noted), never overpowered by the pianist; instead, a perfect balance is struck between orchestra and soloist. More than anything, what surfaces from this double-CD is Mozart's great music: the finale of No. 17 is delightful; throughout the D-minor concerto, we hear the role of the woodwinds in astounding detail. The added bonus of Mozart's solemn Adagio and Fugue in C Minor makes for a gorgeous, though slightly restrained, finale. Yes, Jarrett is the star here, but the real kudos go out to ECM, for capturing such a well-balanced, beautiful recording of these works. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Amazing, as always.......2004-07-24

Keith Jarrett is a tremendously impressive artist. He switches gears between jazz and classical, between solo and orchestral work, in a seemingly effortless manner. One would never assume that the pianist on this recording is a renowned jazzman, but so he is. This recording features some of my favorite Mozart concertos and it will NOT disappoint.

FANTASTIC!.......2002-06-29

I have finally found the Mozart piano concerto recordings I have been looking for. After trying out some of the most popular and best reviewed interpretations (Brendel, Uchida, etc.), I decided to take a chance on this one. What a pleasant surprise! Perfectly played by the soloist and orchestra, brilliantly recorded as well. Some of the older versions of Mozart's concertos are still my favorites (Casadesus, Serkin), but if you are looking for the best versions in modern sound, you can't go wrong with Keith Jarrett. He also recorded a previous cd, with concertos #21, 23 and 27. Although you can't find it in the U.S., it is available through mail order from Europe. I highly recommend that one as well. For those of you on a tight budget, Jeno Jando made an excellent recording of all the piano concertos in the late 80's on Naxos. At a budget price, it is a good introduction for those who haven't experience the joys of listening to W. A. Mozart.

Breathtaking.......2000-11-08

This recording is positively sublime. I believe W.A. Mozart would have been proud to hear Keith Jarrett play his compositions.The first time I heard it I almost wept. Truly brilliant! Highly, highly recommended.A feast for the ears.

Cool, clean Mozart.......2000-02-16

Jarrett's first Mozart album got me started in Mozart Piano Concerti. His clean, straight-forward style is refreshing and lets me go right to the music seemingly without interpretation. And yet, underneath I feel the intense drive of his solo albums, all that passion contained and focused.

Average customer rating: A treasured musical file! Excellent playing, but piano too distant Great recordings

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20, 23, 24, 26 & 27 Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Divertimento In E Mozart: Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" Mozart: Requiem / Davis (Penguin Music Classics Series) Schubert: Wanderer-Fantasie; Schumann / Clifford Curzon Bach - Brandenburg Concertos / Il Giardino armonico ASIN: B00005N56Y Release Date: 2002-02-12

Customer Reviews:

A treasured musical file!.......2005-10-12

The whole story of the composers-conductors have not been written may be well considered unfinished if the name of Britten is not included. His approach in what Mozart concerns is a fact worthy of the best and sincere epithets. He added these Piano Concerts not only elegance, cram, noblesse but also aristocracy and refinement.

So when the imaginative melodic flight of Britten converges with the wisdom innocence of Sir Clifford Curzon -one of the few artists who "made sing" the piano- (Wilhelm Kempff was the genuine master in this field), the result is a true enraptured and inspired Mozart, because as the Great Genius, Mozart 's significance is major by what suggests instead by the expressed.

I should remark the special relevance of this CD because both works mean somehow, the alpha and omega of the best set of Concerts of Wolfgang Amadeus: the 20th is to my mind, the most complete and profound of all Mozart piano Concertos. It possesses humor, innocence, tragedy and redemption; all the mythic cycle expressed in thirty minutes.
"The brevity is the soul of the cleverness"

Absolutely recommended.

Excellent playing, but piano too distant.......2005-06-09

These are excellent perfomances, however, I had trouble listening to some this recording because the piano seemed so quiet and distant and was often overwhelmed by the orchestra's volume. I found myself straining to hear the quiet passages, but couldn't turn it up because the loud sections with full orchestra would be too loud. This was particularly the problem with the Britten-conducted performances, Nos. 20 and 27, less so on the rest.

I'll still try to listen to this cd, but I have other Mozart Piano Concerto performances by Alfred Brendel and Richard Goode that have better definition in the sound and a piano that doesn't get lost in the orchestra that I enjoy more.

Great recordings.......2002-05-27

Decca has wisely chosen Curzon's recordings of these Mozart concertos for reissue in their "Legends" series. Nos. 20 and 27 with Britten and the English Chamber Orchestra are absolutely classic, nos. 23 and 24 with Kertesz and the London Symphony hardly less so. Curzon was at his best in Mozart. His playing is stylish, elegant, and expressive within the context of Mozart's period, without exaggeration or idiosyncrasy. The sound is excellent and has been successfully remastered. The only snag is that no. 26 is split between the two CDs, but since this is the least popular of these concertos anyway this probably won't matter all that much. Highly recommended, and a tremendous bargain at this price (I paid almost this much a few years back just for these recordings of concertos nos. 20 and 27!).

Average customer rating: Moravec's Romantic Vision Of Mozart Spacious and Warm-Hearted Performances

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23 Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Moravec, Ivan | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25 Ivan Moravec Plays Debussy & Chopin Mozart: Concerto Nos. 21 & 24 Ivan Moravec Plays Beethoven Haydn: The London Symphonies, Vol. 2 ASIN: B000009D79 Release Date: 1998-06-23

Tracks:

1. Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466 D Minor: Allegro
2. Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466 D Minor: Romance
3. Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466 D Minor: Rondo (Allegro assai)
4. Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488 A Major: Allegro
5. Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488 A Major: Adagio
6. Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488 A Major: Allegro assai

Amazon.com

These readings appear to be the beginning of a cycle, which should come as welcome news to all Mozarteans. Born in Prague in 1930, Ivan Moravec is a pianist of uncommon gifts and one of the most sympathetic interpreters of Mozart's music ever to sit at a keyboard. His accounts of these concertos, recorded in 1995 and 1997, blend strength and gentleness, spontaneity and calculation, the playful and the serious, in a unique way--stirring in the listener that feeling of elevation that is the hallmark of the very greatest Mozart performances. Marriner and the ASMF attain the same high level of excellence, and the sound is superb. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Moravec's Romantic Vision Of Mozart.......2002-03-15

Without a doubt, Moravec is one of our finest pianists. Having heard him play a great recital program last year at Carnegie Hall which featured music by Debussy, Mozart and Janacek, I was eagerly looking forward to hearing this CD. Moravec gives a vibrant, Romantic interpretation of Mozart's 20th piano concerto that is the most stirring I've heard; it's certainly a far cry from Brendel's austere approach. As for the 23rd Piano Concerto, Moravec's playing conveys more of a Classical interpretation than Romantic, but it is still marked by much vibrant warmth. I don't have to emphasize Sir Neville Marriner's excellence as a fine interpreter of Mozart; both he and the Academy are in splendid form as accompanists. Hopefully this is part of an ongoing Mozart piano concerto cycle which Moravec will complete. The sound quality is splendid.

Spacious and Warm-Hearted Performances.......2000-06-13

Marriner's credentials as a distinguished Mozartean are well-known and need no elaboration here. Moravec too has been playing Mozart beautifully for many years. I have a "cold war" recording of his from the mid-'60's where Mozart's gorgeous K. 475 Fantasy is coupled with Piano Concerto no. 25. His appraoch to Mozart has always been romantic, carrying a rich and full-bodied sound, and this tradition continues here. No. 20 is, along with no. 24, Mozart's most anguished concerto, and Moravec and Marriner bring out its full emotional range in a manner that leaves Perahia and Uchida in the dust. Not since Barenoim's EMI recording have I been so moved by an interpretation of this work. No. 23 is taken more lightly and briskly, as it should be, but if you want to hear how effortlessly Mozart could mask complex heartbreak with deceptively simple lyricism, listen to this concerto's slow movement. It's unforgettable. Marriner and Moravec have also collaborated on no.'s 24 and 25, and I'd recommend that as highly as I do this recording. I was lucky enough to see Moravic perform Mozart in 1991, and he's a true artist. If you're new to these concertos, then wait no longer--a whole range of undiscovered delights await you. If you have a recording of these concertos you're happy with, give this a try too. I'm sure Moravec will bring forth new insights into these pieces you thought you knew so well.

Average customer rating: A famous recording, but it sounds surprisingly underplayed Mozart piano at it's finest!

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 19 & 20 Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Serkin, Rudolf | ( S ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Concerto Nos. 21 & 24 Mozart: Violin Concertos Mozart: Divertimento In E Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Haydn Variations; Academic Festival Overture Bach: 6 Suiten für Violoncello solo ASIN: B0001ENYJY Release Date: 2004-02-24

Tracks:

1. I. Allegro
2. II. Allegretto
3. III. Allegro Assai
4. I. Allegro
5. II. Romance
6. III. Rondo: Allegro Assai
7. Allegretto Grazioso

Customer Reviews:

A famous recording, but it sounds surprisingly underplayed.......2006-06-15

For a long time Mozart's piano concertos were neglected except for those few that could be made to fit the Romantic mold, chief among them being the D minor, K. 466. Pianists often oerplayed to the point of sounding like quasi-Beethoven. Serkin and Szell certainly avoid that--the pickup Columbia Sym. Orch. is a small, lean group, Szell keeps everything under restraint, and Serkin follows suit with a surprising amount of underplaying. Admirers would say that this is clean, classic musicianship, but it sounds a bit bloodless to me. Even the rollicking Rondo finale flies by without either partner digigng beneath the surface.

The gentler F major concerto, K. 459 seems to suit their low-key approach better. As lovely as his touch is, I wish Serkin had more of a smile in his playing, and Szell sounds efficient rather than inspired. The opening Allegro is a bit slack in tempo, and the second movement Allegretto is more like an Andante. For this reissue, Sony gives us much better sonics than these early (1961) recordings had before. As filler we also get a much livelier reading of the Concert Rondo K. 382, conducted in robust style by Alexander Schneider (not Szell, as Amazon mistakenly lists). Serkin seems to be in fine humor here, and despite the boxy mono sound, this was the performance I enjoyed the most.

Mozart piano at it's finest!.......2004-12-02

Although I bought this CD to hear Serkin and Szell's take on the famous d minor concerto, it is really the F major one (number 19) that is the iceing on this CD. Simply one of the finest examples of Mozart recorded. Nothing, absolutely nothing is out of balance. The Columbia Symphony plays superbly for Szell and Serkin is completely in sync with them. The recording was made with such clarity in 1961, that it still rivals most current digital versions, and performance-wise, leaves them in the dust.

You have Serkin's almost unnatural ability to play the keys with an even weight, plus his beautiful touch, always each note very distinct and measured. And Szell giving the same weight to the orchestral soloists.

As I mentioned, I purchased this CD to hear the Serkin/Szell performance of the d minor concerto, which I can also say is just as good, but there are a few equally good recordings of this famous work (but none in the price range).

But the radiant performance of the F major concerto truly makes this a must buy CD. As an extra, the Second Rondo for piano and orchestra is included.

Average customer rating: With motive of Mozart's 250th anniversary! BUYER BEWARE Well, it IS Michelangeli, but is it Mozart?

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23 Manufacturer: Classica D'oro ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Michelangeli, Arturo Benedetti | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Ravel/Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos ASIN: B00005NHKJ Release Date: 2001-09-04

Customer Reviews:

With motive of Mozart's 250th anniversary!.......2006-05-24

I must start noticing the fact there have been countless versions about these two well known Piano Concertos, but for the most of pianists the 20th Piano Concerto has become his personal Waterloo. This is probably, the most difficult, complex and intriguing of this set. The fortunate blending of such talented musicians left us for the posterity amazing results.

The wisdom vision and accurate phrasing of Michelangeli(who was in his 37) plus the notable support from the podium of Carlo maria Giulini allowed to perform one of the most sublime, distinguished and propulsive versions ever recorded.

The dark and somber environment of the first part of the First Movement, the change of modulation in the second Movement between the raising shadow of the tragedy and the profound nostalgic attachment of the far memories of the vanished youth shake hands. This Concert is absorbing in summon grade, it demands from soloist and director a cabal understanding of the thematic material. And being the First of the whole set of future Concerts to come, impregnated with furtive visions and dreamy reflections, it constitutes a real breakthrough respect the previous Mozart. If you only play the score without taking in mind the whole significance of this work, you take a very dangerous risk about it.

The 23th Concerto does not present such conceptual aspects. It' s much clear, lineal and less ambitious. It' s not a transition work and the tragedy is not hidden like an army of barefoot demons spying beneath the pages of the score.


The subduing approach, sublime charm and superb conception around both Concerts, you will never find in later recordings where you simply will enjoy musical happening, where restraining and minimizing the dramatis personae of the work, you will enjoy a good time, because of a distorted and even speculative vision.

Acquire as soon as possible this legendary album.

BUYER BEWARE.......2005-01-04

The combination of this recorded sound with Michelangeli makes a high rating impossible. More than anything else, what made Michelangeli unique was his tone-production. Being familiar with his playing, I could just about recognise him through the odd muffled sound of this 1951 live concert with Giulini.

The actual performances were probably quite good. I don't think I was looking for particular illumination of Mozart from Michelangeli as I might look for it from Brendel or Serkin or Curzon or Perahia, but everything he did was interesting. Tempi are very reasonable and nothing struck me as out of style except maybe a few 'expressive' little rhythmic inflexions. One of the critics quoted in the notes that come with these performances in Europe on the Urania label tries to make an issue of the way M handles the opening solo theme in the D minor at a slower speed than the other material, but I can't see much of a problem in that. Richter does something similar and it seems a perfectly reasonable approach to me. Cadenzas are less important, and in the D minor I don't know whose M is using but I'd rather he hadn't. Richter, Serkin and Katchen use Beethoven's.

The problems with the sound are mainly with the piano, but there is a ghastly strangulated sound to the clarinets at the start of the A major. Otherwise I suppose I have heard worse and put up with it better. I didn't get much enlightenment from the European (Urania label) leaflet either, which is largely bombastic Higher Criticism saying not much, and very clumsily translated. In the last resort I was intrigued to find out what this great player might have done in music I don't specially associate him with, and I suppose I have got something of what I was after. I also played versions I have by Serkin, Richter, Solomon and Katchen, so the exercise was enjoyable to that extent. However that is a very limited subset of what is available, and anyone looking for a categorical recommendation will have to do a lot more research. To be going on with, I am pleased to say that Britain is very well represented in the A major stakes by Solomon and Curzon. As regards the D minor, the account by Serkin and Szell strikes me as having something very special about it, whatever the competition, because of the absolute empathy of these boyhood friends, a regal quality to Serkin's playing and his vivid handling of the finale. There is a rough side to Mozart's genius as Shaw very well said, and Serkin is not afraid of that.

So 3 stars on a benefit-of-the-doubt basis because of the intrinsic interest of anything left to us by Michelangeli.

Well, it IS Michelangeli, but is it Mozart?.......2005-01-04

Several caveats about this CD. It is in execrable sound, taken from live performances for Italian radio in 1951. I got it primarily because I admire Michelangeli enormously and I also have great admiration for Carlo Maria Giulini as a conductor. Having said that, though, I must admit that except for a few moments I was not terribly taken by the performances. I was intrigued however by ABM's use of completely unknown cadenzas in the D Minor Concerto, K. 466. They clearly aren't the ones Beethoven wrote out of his great admiration for this concerto. And they aren't Hummel's far inferior set, either. So who wrote them? They sound to be much later in style than either Beethoven or Hummel and I would guess, from style alone, that they were written perhaps in the middle third of the 19th century (unless, of course, they are more modern but intentionally written in an old style). Whatever they are, they're rather nice, with some chromaticism that Mozart certainly wouldn't have used, but considering that the D Minor is Mozart's most dramatic, even Romantic, concerto, perhaps that's not too far amiss. As to ABM's playing, I would have to say that he is not a natural Mozart player. Although one can almost hear him gearing back, there is no doubt that he brings a Romantic sensibility to the two concerti. That works better in the D Minor, but in the sunny A Major concerto, K. 488, it really feels wrong. Further, Giulini's accompaniment is full of dramatic gestures that don't fit Mozart's style at all. And the RAI/Rome orchestra sounds scrappy at best; the bass-shy monaural acoustic doesn't help matters.

Still it is interesting to hear how Michelangeli was playing at age 31, just before he became gravely ill and had to interrupt his career for a time (as he had had to do while serving in the Italian air force during WWII). He SOUNDS like Michelangeli, but there is less of a lapidary manner that we became familiar with in his later recordings. There are even a couple of dropped notes, something that almost never happens in live recordings by ABM. Gasp!

I cannot give this CD more than three stars, and do that only because Michelangeli, even when playing in repertoire that is not natural for him, is still a giant. But I suppose this CD would be only for ABM completists, like my esteemed fellow Amazon reviewer, David Bryson, whose knowledge about ABM far exceeds mine. I know he owns these performances, but he seems not to have reviewed them, at least this Classica D'Oro pressing of them.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating: Great Mozart From Brendel and Marriner MOZART's GREAT PIANO CONCERTOS

Mozart: Concertos Nos. 20 & 24; Concert Rondo Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Marriner, Sir Neville | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Classical General | Classical | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Symphony Nos.25, 26, 27, 29 & 32 Mozart: Requiem / McNair, Watkinson, Araiza, Lloyd; Marriner Bach: Violin Concertos Mendelssohn: 5 Symphonies; 7 Overtures ASIN: B0000040Z9 Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor: Allegro
2. Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor: Romance
3. Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor: Rondo (Allegro assai)
4. Concert Rondo In D: Allegretto grazioso
5. Concert Rondo In D: Adagio
6. Concert Rondo In D: Allegro
7. Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor: Allegro
8. Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor: Larghetto
9. Piano Concerto No.24 In C Minor: Allegretto

Customer Reviews:

Great Mozart From Brendel and Marriner.......2002-12-23

It's unfortunate that this seems to be one of a handful of CDs still available from Brendel's 1970's and early 1980's traversal of most of Mozart's piano concerti, which he recorded with Sir Neville Marriner conducting the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra. The sound quality on this analogue recording is up to Philips's standards for the 1970's. Brendel's performances are splendid and so too are the orchestra's. Anyone interested in an excellent recording of these Mozart piano concerti will not be disappointed.

MOZART's GREAT PIANO CONCERTOS.......2000-11-19

While it is almost impossible to tell which pianist did the best recording of these two masterpieces-i personally prefer MITSUKO UCHIDA, perhaps because i first heard them with her-ALFRED BRENDEL who i think is the best authority on SCHUBERT(his complete cycle of sonatas are great)does also an excellent job ,and you can also go with him without worrying.This is the great MOZART reaching his full maturity as a composer of concertos.It's dark,it's moving and it really gets to you.If you don't like this you're dead.

Average customer rating: What was Wolfgang doing at Indianapolis? great modern interpretation

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 18 & 20 Manufacturer: Nonesuch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Goode, Richard | ( G ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24 Mozart: Piano Concertos Mozart: Piano Concertos no 25 & 9 Richard Goode Performs Mozart Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 61 ASIN: B000005J4G Release Date: 1996-10-15

Tracks:

1. Piano Concerto No. 18 In B-Flat Major, K. 456: I. Allegro Vivace
2. Piano Concerto No. 18 In B-Flat Major, K. 456: II. Andante poco sostenuto
3. Piano Concerto No. 18 In B-Flat Major, K. 456: III. Allegro vivace
4. Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, K. 466: I. Allegro
5. Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, K. 466: II. Romance
6. Piano Concerto No. 20 In D Minor, K. 466: III. Allegro Assai

Customer Reviews:

What was Wolfgang doing at Indianapolis?.......2006-10-08

Answer: about 200 mph, in the third movement of the D minor. At 6:52, Goode may have set a record for this track: he shaves almost a minute off Curzon's time, and beats even Bilson by over half a minute. The slow movement likewise is the fastest I know of, which costs it some of its depth, and sounds almost as staccato as if it were played on a pianoforte.
But if your fondness for lively Mozart extends to allowing an allegro assai to be played quasi prestissimo, you're going to love this disc. The D minor is energized not only by fast tempi but by pointed accents and impassioned playing. The unusually detailed CD notes explain that the D minor was composed around the time Mozart wrote Don Giovanni; evidently an opera buffa style was emulated here. Despite the fast pace, the players stay on top of the music, with a great deal of nuance and only a few, very slight lapses of precision (it is the clarity of this recording that tattles on them). Goode uses Beethoven's cadenza in the first movement; in the finale, he offers a terse, refreshing and brilliant cadenza of his own (none of the wallowing in the spotlight that characterizes too many self-composed cadenzas).
The Concerto #18 receives a less notable performance, straightforward and polished.

great modern interpretation.......2001-09-23

a wonderful performance. goode is excellent, especially on no. 20. the playing is strong, perhaps too strong for those who like the romantic approach.

Average customer rating:

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 Manufacturer: EMI Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Piano | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B00005NPJI Release Date: 2002-08-13

Tracks:

1. Pno Con No.20 in d, K.466: I. Allegro
2. Pno Con No.20 in d, K.466: II. Romanze
3. Pno Con No.20 in d, K.466: III. Rondo (Allegro Assai)
4. Pno Con No.21 in C, K.467: I. Allegro Maestoso
5. Pno Con No.21 in C, K.467: II. Andante
6. Pno Con No.21 in C, K.467: III. Allegro Vivace Assai

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 Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 26 'Coronation' Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos / Richter Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (Complete) [Box Set] Faure: Violin Sonatas Op. 13 & Op. 108/Frank Schubert, Debussy / Rostropovich, Britten ASIN: B000009MBI Release Date: 1997-04-01

Tracks:

1. Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K 466 -D-Moll Kv 466 En Re Mineur In Re Minore En Menor / Allegro
2. Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K 466 -D-Moll Kv 466 En Re Mineur In Re Minore En Menor / Romance
3. Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K 466 -D-Moll Kv 466 En Re Mineur In Re Minore En Menor / Rondo
4. Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 C-Dur Kv 467 En Ut Majeur In Do Maggiore En Do Mayor / Allegro
5. Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 C-Dur Kv 467 En Ut Majeur In Do Maggiore En Do Mayor / Andante
6. Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 C-Dur Kv 467 En Ut Majeur In Do Maggiore En Do Mayor Allegrovivace
7. Concerto No.25 In C Flat Major, K.503 / Allegro Maestoso
8. Concerto No.25 In C Flat Major, K.503 / Andante
9. Concerto No.25 In C Flat Major, K.503 / Allegretto
10. Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K.595 / Allegro
11. Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K.595 / Larghetto
12. Concerto No.27 In B Flat Major, K.595 / Allegro

Track Listings:

1. Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 27
2. Mozart: Piano Sonata KV.281, 330 & 333
3. MOZART : Piano Sonatas - Klien
4. Mozart: Serenade No12; Serenade No11
5. Mozart: String Quartets K.387 & K.421
6. Neeme Järvi-The Early Recordings, Vol. 1
7. Neeme Järvi-The Early Recordings, Vol. 4
8. NIELSEN : Concertos for Violin, Clarinet & Flute - Matsuyama / McCaw / Stinton
9. Organ Music in France and Southern Netherlands
10. Organ Symphony, Piano Concerto No. 4, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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Sweetheart's Dance

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Albinoni - 12 Concertos, op. 9 / Manze, de Bruine, AAM, Hogwood

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