Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 1

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Neville Marriner (Conductor), Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Orchestra), Alfred Brendel (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Alfred Brendel
• Orchestra: Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
• Conductor: Neville Marriner
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (April 12, 1994)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B000004194
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,024 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

127 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great performances of some of Mozart's best Piano Concertos, November 30, 2002

By	Smaug "Jeremy" (Round Lake Beach, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

To give you an idea of how much I like this, I have already bought two copies of this one and two copies of Vol. 2. (gifts) To begin with, the music is so beautiful, it occasionally brings a tear to my eye. Alfred Brendel (the pianist) plays with spirit, but doesn't overdo it like Daniel Barenboim does. (I have the complete Mozart Piano Concertos played by Barenboim from the EMI label, and he didn't play them this well) The only pianist I like better for Mozart is Alicia de Larocha, but her recordings are much more expensive, and she only recorded a few of these Piano Concertos.

If I were to recommend three sets of CDs to represent Mozart, I would choose his late symphonies (sold here on the Deutsch Gramophone (sp?) label) and Vols. 1 & 2 of his Piano Concertos through Philips. Also, look for Mozart's Horn, Oboe, and Bassoon Concertos, and his Piano Sonatas, which are also outstanding.

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Volume 1 of great Mozart concertos; absolutely brilliant!, May 7, 2000

By	Mike Powers "mkp51" (Boothbay, ME United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I found this 2-CD set to be an absolute delight. It contains 5 of Mozart's most famous piano concertos and his two rondos for piano as well - a particularly generous offering! From opening to closing measure of every selection, pianist Alfred Brendel and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner, team up to establish a splendid musical dialog. Brendel is a wonderful interpreter and player of Mozart's music; I found him to be particularly expressive in Concerto No. 20 (my favorite) and No. 21. The 2 piano rondos are sheer magic from start to finish as well.

This CD set was awarded a rosette by the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs. (The rosette is the Penguin Guide's highest accolade, given to recordings of special distinction). For lovers of Mozart's piano concertos, this, and its companion "The Great Piano Concertos, Volume 2," are THE CDs to own!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great pianist, great price, bad track listing, February 16, 2006

By	ronaldbrian (Quezon City, Philippines) - See all my reviews

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.