Customer Reviews

Mozart: Favourite Works For Piano

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1705, Johann Sebastian Bach, then a young man of twenty, walked four hundred kilometres from Arnstadt to Lübeck in order to hear Buxtehude. It was a grand gesture. A question comes to mind: which pianists would prompt one to undertake a similar pilgrimage? Richter in one of those barns? Let's go! Horowitz at Carnegie Hall? Where are my walking shoes! What about Alfred Brendel at Wigmore Hall?

What with an epidemic of pyro-technicians such as Lang Lang and a dearth of genuine keyboard-artists, reviewers elsewhere on Amazon have likened his standing to "the one eyed man in the kingdom of the blind". It is hard to demur. Even so, Brendel has compiled a formidable discography. His intelligence and integrity as an artist cannot be gainsaid. His Mozart Piano Concertos, while not as prominent as what they once were, still have champions. What of his success or otherwise in Mozart's keyboard works?

Brendel's sparse, percussive tone in the A Minor and C Minor, K 310 & K 457 makes for ugly listening. I have no desire to return to these pinchgut recordings whatsoever. He fails to bring the Dupont Variations to life; admittedly they are Mozart at his most gallant but surely they call for something more than a foursquare, near-metronomic approach if they are to make an impression. The Adagio in B Minor, K 540, and the deeply unsettling Rondo in A Minor, K 511, are non events here. They are well played but do not bespeak anything deeper; and sadly, I never thought I'd describe the latter as a makeweight. The B Flat Sonata is spritely played but fails to resonate afterwards. The best thing here by a mile is the A Major Sonata, K 331, recorded in 1975; it held my attention for its duration and I walked away with new insights; the Penguin Guide detected the presence of Edwin Fischer, Brendel's teacher, in this reading. Even so, there was no great compulsion to revisit it.

Uchida on song is a much finer practitioner in this repertoire Mozart: The Piano Sonatas [Box Set]. She has a richness of tone and an alchemy that elude our earnest friend. Just listen to her in the A Minor Rondo and how she duels with otherworldly voices. Fine as Brendel is in the K 331, she is better still.

So if it's Brendel at Wigmore Hall I am happy to attend if the tickets are cheap and you can drop me at the door. I'm sure it'll be a good night.

Brendel's Mozart touch is superb--he is capable of getting loud sounds without banging, and of getting soft sounds without being wispy. As a pianist, I would recommend this CD for anyone who loves classical music.

are only a few descriptions for this beautiful collection of, what probably is, some of the best Mozart piano pieces. The first six pieces(including Sonata in A minor, Fantasia in C minor, and Sonata in C minor)were composed by Mozart in Munich early in 1775. However, he only publicized some of the songs. Some of my favorites include Sonata in A minor which opens out with a bursting melody--Allero maetoso. The central part, Andante cantabile acts as a quite, emotional solace and then although, the last Presto is a gloomy standpoint in the music, it is nonetheless charming. Track number eight which is the 'Sonata in B flat, KV 333, is another all-time favorite of mine. The music paints a vivid picture of a most beautiful paradise. Track number four, which is the Fantasia in C minor,KV 475, is another one of my favorites. It starts off loudly, but then a softness takes over for a while. The piece continues like this for a while with some variations and in doing so gives the impression of a ballroom filled with gentlemen and ladies dancing and laughing and twirling...

However, the best of the lot, is in the second CD titled, Adagio in B minor. You'll have to listen to this charming piece for yourself since words cannot suffice to describe it. This music is most definately worth the buy. Perfect for cocktail parties, your own personal downtime, whatever. It is one of my favorite CDs. But don't take my word for it, buy for yourself!

Brendel always plays beautifully....this recording is marred by miking that unfortunately captures Brendel's vocalizing and humming which is very irritating throughout -- unless you have been trained in the Glenn Gould school of selective listening!

These are the kind of recordings that turn people away from Mozart's wonderful piano sonatas. Try Uchida or Schiff for good interpretations. If you like Brendel, try his recording of the piano concertos where he does well. Besides the cool mechanical performances here, another complaint is that the CD leaves out Mozart's piano sonata KV 545 which is definitely one of his best and most recognizable pieces and the wonderful Fantasy in D Minor KV 397. Don't miss them! Any collection that leaves out those two and calls itself Mozart favorite works for piano is outright misleading, and any recording with so little heart and soul deserves only one star. I'll be generous and give two stars for the sense of architecture that Brendel has. Try Uchida or Schiff.