Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano Concertos 21 & 23

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

 

 

One of the great mysteries of Mozart is that his music remains so fresh and appealing, so seemingly transparent, and yet so endlessly rewarding of study and close listening. There are always new things to find, new structures and miraculous details that Mozart was always aware of, but you just discovered on this most recent hearing. He seems to have no limits to his inventiveness, balance, seeming effortless power, and emotions that are perfectly expressed. He can share an anguish that seems miles deep, but never resorts to bathos or tricks to achieve his expression.

These two concertos are wonderful examples of these virtues. Concerto #21 has an opening allegro that not only delights with its energy, it has material in a minor key that provides balance and contrast in a way that makes the central material more ebullient than it would be on its own.

The second movement is very famous and justly so. It has many perfections and is balanced like those perfect summer days that are hot, but not too hot; the wind blows, but not too hard, the air is not humid or dry, and the air is full of the sounds and smells of life without being oppressing. It has a languid feel to it that is tinged with longing and a sense of loss without ever being tragic. It is a jewel. Oh, it was used as a theme for a seventies movie you may have seen called "Elvira Madigan", but that is a very minor point.

The third movement provides a dash and verve that can brighten anyone's day. The play between pianist and orchestra is a delight and requires such a light approach that it could disappear without just the right anchor of seriousness to keep it floating but not floating off.

Concerto #23 is quite different. It comes across as much more intimate and personal. It is less about drawing us all in than in making us each feel that we are alone with Mozart sharing his thoughts with us. The opening allegro has its joys, but they are never shouted to everyone, it is a joy felt in your heart.

The second movement has the kind of sweet sadness that one has when one is hurt by a longing that only a memory of what is lost can salve, yet even bringing the sweet memory to mind hurts, but it is a pleasing hurt because of the sweetness of that which one remembers.

The third movement dismisses all sadness with its convivial singing. Yet, its genial nature still retains some sense that it knows the ache we just shared. It says never mind all that and takes off in a fresh way, but we both remember what it was we were singing about just a moment before.

Brendel is an especially fine pianist for these works because his wonderful technique is always in the service of the music rather than drawing attention to its virtuosity. He does make it all so intelligent and seemingly simple that we focus on the music rather than his virtuosity. For Brendel, it is Mozart that matters and he shares his enjoyment with us. I always get the sense that Brendel knows everything in Mozart's mind and shares as much of it as a human being can.

One can always find new and fresh ways to praise the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and its longtime conductor, Neville Mariner. Often orchestras are called accompanists when performing concertos. Of course, in the best works that is balderdash. The concerto form is all about two forces and their interplay. Here the orchestra takes the piano as an equal and shares the musical ideas as a peer rather than as something to pass the time until we get back to the pianist. We listen to the wonderful playing of the orchestra to understand the piano part more fully and the piano informs our hearing of the orchestra as well.

This is a great disk at a great price. Concerto #21 was recorded in 1981 and #23 in 1971, but as fresh as this morning.

This is part of a Penguin series on great music and they have liner notes from various writers. For this disk they have the wonderful Harold Bloom who was just finishing his big book on Shakespeare when he wrote this piece. He focuses on the way Mozart is endlessly deep and transcends all time and scholarship, as does Shakespeare. It is worth reading.

This splendid recording is a reissue from Brendel's distinguished analogue/digital recordings of Mozart's piano concerti which he made with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of Saint Martin's in the Fields chamber orchestra back in the 1970's and early 1980's. Listeners will recognize the second movement of piano concerto number 21 as the theme to the movie "Elvira Madigan". Brendel, Marriner and the orchestra give distinguished, lyrical performances of Mozart's scores. Anyone on a cheap budget interested in an introduction to two of Mozart's great works for the piano and orchestra will not be disappointed with this recording.

Alfred Brendel has no rival among living pianists with regard to the classical repertoire of his instrument. From Haydn and Mozart to Beethoven and Schubert, no other interpreter except Brendel is able to convey on the keyboard - with so much graceful poise and effortless exactitude - the inner beauties of their scores. His affectionate approach to Mozart materialized in many outstanding recordings during his long and highly praised presence in front of the public from all over the world.

In the case of Mozart concertos - which remained a constant affinity of Brendel's till his very last public appearance (in Vienna on 18 December 2008)- there were two distinct recorded cycles under two distinguished conductors (Sir Neville Marriner and Sir Charles Mackerras) leading two remarkable British orchestras (Academy Saint Martin in the Fields and Scottish Chamber Orchestra), Moreover, these two cycles were realised at two very different moments in Brendel's impressive career: the first one, at the beginning of his maturity (in early '70s) and the second one towards the sunset of his concert-giving activity (in the early 2000), a few years prior his retirement from the international stage. Aware of the huge responsibility, Brendel finally entrusted to disc - with great international acclaim - twelve of Mozart's keyboard sonatas, only in this latter period.

The CD under consideration here cherishes special moments from the first set of Mozartean recordings in Brendel's artistic life. We are offered by these reissued benchmark recordings two of the most beloved Viennese outputs in Mozart's catalogue: the piano concertos K 467 and K 488. Useless to say that Brendel masters in a most engaging manner the ability to extract the adequate accents from these wonderful works. Take for instance the celebrated concerto in C major K 467. Its outer movements sound so vividly impetuous, whilst the central Andante arises in a fresh unsentimental light without losing a bit of its touching delicacy. While this account datse from 1981, the concerto in A major K 488 belongs to the year 1971. This is noticeable, as the recorded sound lacks a little bit its space projection, its airiness. Yet Brendel's approach is nothing short of inspired. The alertness of the final movement (Allegro assai) is refreshing and Brendel's fingers simply seem to dance, as they soar over the keys in a graceful touch when deal with the calm central Adagio. The tempi are neither exaggerated nor diluted, the dynamical range carefully balanced throughout, the orchestral contributions occurring with classical elegance bind together the proceedings.

Sir Neville and his Academy supply a wondrous orchestral background throughout, in a lively permanent dialogue with the soloist, setting admirably the stage for him and seamlessly incorporating his interventions into the symphonic proceedings.

Five stars!

Let me say this: Brendel is amazing. His techique would be summarized as follows: quite little pedalling, so there is a sound not too different from period fortepianos, but with greater dinamic range (characteristic of modern piano). He also shows a huge variety of touch with carefull control of dinamics. In short, a delight. He is known as an intellectual, scholar artist and this is reflected here. See that K488 was recorded in 1971 and the rest 10 years later and the pianist style has not change: a tribute to coherence. He also adds some notes, something quite correct in this type of music but I find it too conservative. They say Levin/Hogwood go in this direction (I do not know their releases yet); I hope for readings so embellished as is Vivaldi nowadays played, for instance.
But Marriner ... Perhaps is a fault of sound engineer! In the surface orchestral parts are played quite right, very "alive" but still without the clarity of HIP recordings which were to appear years later. But with repeated listenings I find a great fault: it happens that the balance is not good at all. I love Mozart concertos because, among other things, wind writing (esp woodwind) is quite developped (better than the rest of the composers of piano concertos, perhaps). The woodwind and brass should be played as if the instrumentalists were soloists or chamber players, not just members of a huge block of sound: the modern orchestra. Here woodwinds sound too far behind, with little projection and sometimes not audible (development of 21 1st mov: oboe vs strings). If you dont understand what I am talking about try Barenboim/ECO: there you know what is playing each one of the woodwinds everytime, even in orchestral tuttis. And the bright colours Barenboim achieves of them!. I think it is a fault of Marriner: he does not understand the truly importance of woodwind in Mozart writing.