Customer Reviews

Mozart: The Piano Concertos [Box Set]

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Géza Anda's interpretations of Mozart's piano concertos are immortal classics that should not be overlooked. Granted, it is a crowded field, which include many excellent accounts (Perahia's, for example). But these recordings - made in Salzburg - are fine examples of the rare moments in music making when a soloist and ensemble forms a coherent unit. Anda and his Salzburger team know Mozart by heart, and they perform these works with an unmatched dedication and sophistication. Technical brilliance is not the ultimate goal here; it is rather the music itself, how to let it flow with a balanced passion. This keeps the element of spontaneity, so crucial in Mozart's music, alive and sparkling.

Anda's Mozart is thus never dull, which occasionally is the case with Brendel's or Perahia's. In his hands, each phrase is given attention, vitality, and expressive nuance. As a result, it is a sheer delight to listen to all the 27 concertos for the (almost) ten hours it takes.

So far for the interpretations. Regarding recording quality, these recordings were made in the sixties at a time when the DG engineers really couldn't compete with, say Decca or HMV. The recordings are thus a bit dry, even if the remasterings are excellent. But do not let this very minor shortcoming prevent you from experience these outstanding interpretations.

To sum up: this set is strongly recommended for any music collector. Mozart's piano concertos have never been more attractively presented than in the hands of Anda.

Geza Anda has been one of my favorite pianists for a long time. He has moved me deeply with his beautiful style, playing every composition as if he composed it himself, with power of expression and feeling.

This complete Mozart piano concertos box set is a beautiful collectors' edition, recorded from 1961 to 1969, with Deustche Grammophon's superb sound.

Geza Anda was born in Budapest in 1921, studied with Dohnanyi and Kodaly. He won the Liszt Price in 1940. A protege of Furtwaengler - who called him "le troubadour du piano," he died of cancer in 1976.

He has received numerous awards with his earlier recordings of Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, and also with Mozart. His friend Clara Haskil influenced his approach to Mozart.
He was the first pianist who recorded all of Mozart's piano concertos, conducting from the keyboard, with the Camerata Academica des Salzburger Mozarteums.

From 1952 until his death, Anda made a solo appearance every year at the Salzburg Festival, a record matched by no other musician in Mozart's birthplace.

During his lifetime Geza Anda was acknowledged as among the foremost interpreters of Mozart's piano scores, perfoming annually at the Salzburg Festival towards the end of his life. His Mozart piano concerto cycle was the first to be recorded almost in its entirety by one soloist and orchestra. It was also the first to have the orchestra under the soloist's direction. Recorded over the span of several years, these performances still sound quite vividly clear and crisp. The sound quality on these recordings is absolutely first rate. Credit is due to Deutsche Grammophon's recording engineers; these are some of the label's best recordings from the 1960's. As a soloist, Anda gives introspective, yet passionate, readings of Mozart's scores which lack the exuberance of Daniel Barenboim's performances with the English Chamber Orchestra, but are as polished as Alfred Brendel's with the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner's direction. Most noteworthy are his performances of the 14th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 26th and 27th concerti, but the others sound fine too. Fans of Mozart's piano concerti will not be disappointed with this inexpensive CD set, which still holds its own against its more recent, better recorded competition from the likes of Perahia and Uchida, to name but a few.

This cycle stands among the greatest of Mozart Piano Concertos. Compared to the complete cycle recorded by Vladimir Ashkenazy (my point of reference), this set possesses great qualities, in both the music making and the recording quality. Deutsche Grammphon has done a superb job of remastering these recordings. Some passages have a bit of glare in the string section, though this is not pervasive and is perhaps the only real hint as to the age of these recordings (made between 1961 and 1969).

Published reviews of these recordings by Geza Anda mention that he set the stage for "modern" interpretations of these piano concertos. I concur strongly with this evaluation. After hearing other great renditions of these works by Ashkenazy, Barenboim (1960s and 1990s), Brendel, and Uchida, (I have not heard any concertos by Murray Perahia), I believe one will find unique and inspiring approaches to these works by Geza Anda.

This is a thoroughly recommendable and economical collection of these concertos. Though I would still slightly favor the complete set by Vladimir Ashkenazy because it includes the concertos for two and three pianos, whereas this set only includes the single-piano concertos. However, for the listener who wishes to possess another complete cycle of the concertos, then this set stands strongly on its own merits.

Geza Anda possesed an unique and enviable (in the best sense of the word)rapport with Mozart. There are versions that must be underlined among the most pyramidal ever done. His First, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, 12th,the 15th, the 19th,23th and 27th justify by far its acquisition.

Geza Anda received an invaluable influence of thwo superb musicians; the unforgettable Clara Haskil and the hyper talented Hungarian conductor, Ferenc Fricsay.

Playing and conducting from the Piano he played regularly in Salzburg Festivals, being his sound pristine and crystalline. His excellent approach and above all, his formidable pianism, conform one of the most indispensable sets of these Piano Concertos.

Specially recomended in this special year 2006 in which all of us will commemorate the 250th anniversary of this sublime composer.

This is an outstanding set of music, of any variety/vintage. The interpretations of all the concerti are luminous and iridescent. They bring to mind Liszt's observation about Mozart being "music's genius of light and love". I prefer them, without reservation, to the Perahia set which I also possess. All the concerti are lively and with such splendid insights, that it would appear that one is hearing several of the movements for the first time.
I heard them sequentially from #1 to #27, and cannot find words to do justice to the last concerto, which is one of my favorites. Rather than merely being slower than normal, or melancholy, it is so suspended between the earth and the sky, that one feels lifted into some alternate sphere of existence. The outcome of this magic is that when the 6/8 time of the finale is first heard, one is left gasping for air. This is the finest and most satisfying interpretation of #27 I have ever heard. My only complaint is with #24, in that it does not aspire to the symphonic reaches it attains with Wilhelm Kempff at the pianoforte, but then that I hold true for every other interpretation of that concerto as well.
All in all, a genuinely beautiful and lovely set for anyone who loves the Mozart piano concerti and hears them as frequently as do I. Recommended without reservation!

While the recorded sound of this set may not be as consistent or flawless as that in more recent (i.e digital) recordings, the music contained very quickly makes up for it. Anda's music-making is very engaging and convincing, and the ensemble playing is generally very, very good. The previous reviewer wrote: "... a thoroughly recommendable and economical collection of these concertos". I couldn't agree more heartily!

I don't know enough about the history of different styles of performances of the Mozart concerti to comment on how these fit into that picture, but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed most aspects of these performances. Tempi are a little too quick in some places, and in that regard I suppose these show the modern tendency to play pieces faster than the composers probably intended. Comparing movement timings to multiple other recordings I have on hand it seems some are slower and several in this set are quicker. Despite that, the artistry and interpretation were definitely highly enjoyable to me. It's easy to get caught up in the fun of these lively, highly skillful and playful performances.

Regarding sound quality, in a sense these are excellent recordings. Piano and instrument sound are extremely good, if one is not looking for hall sound or a realistic presentation in acoustic space. I was aware that Deutsche Grammophon had the close-miking disease, but didn't know it extended back into the 1960s. Not even on stage does one hear instruments seemingly from the inside out, so while the instrument sound is very clear as usually results from close-miking, the perspective can't honestly be called realistic. Unfortunately too many recordings are close-miked. The sound of this recording probably could have been much better if not close-miked, assuming the DG engineers could learn to do it well.

There are occasional signs of some high-frequency or dynamic limitations. Probably these are inherent in the microphones more than the original analog tape. Tape noise is not intrusive. DG's digital signal processing called "Original-image Bit-processing" seems to work very well. Signal integrity seems good and possibly improved over the original tapes. If the improvements are an illusion, it's a good one.

Je crois que je pourrais collectionner que les intégrales des concerti pour piano de Mozart.

J'ai finalement acheté cette compile après avoir réécouter ce merveilleux CD (6-17 et 21) qui somnolait depuis des années dans ma discothèque et qui m'avait procuré des heures de bonheur, il y a plus de trente ans, dans sa version vinyle :
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
ASIN : B000001GQO

Geza Anda est un pianiste très voluptueux, son toucher courtois et délicat est plus "mature" et moins "juvénile" que celui de Clara Haskil, moins "viril" que celui de Barenboïm (EMI Classics France ASIN : B0040UEI9A), mais plus "gai" que celui de Robert Casadesus (Label: Sony Classical ASIN : B004H6P2KQ - spartiate et ennuyeux...)), certainement aussi "ludique" que celui de Murray Perhaia (Label: Sony Classical ASIN : B000GLKLCK).

Ces enregistrements (des années '60) ont beaucoup plus de profondeur que ceux, trop numérique, de ces dernières années et cela s'entend clairement.

Geza Anda : une âme insondable.

A música de Mozart é divina. Acalma a mente e perfuma o ar. A coleção com os concertos para piano é uma relíquia.