Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano Concertos K.467 & 537; Variations K.265

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4 star:		(1)
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Casadesus recorded all the late Mozart Concertos with Szell - and he couldn't have found a better partner (Walter Legge considered Szell the best Mozart interpreter since R. Strauss). There a loads of recordings of these concertos on the market but apart from a few versions in mono (Lipatti, Haskil/Fricsay) none of them creates the requiered atmosphere. The recent ones always lacks something; Végh was an excellent Mozart conductor but he sadly chose the less gifted Schiff as soloist for his cycle. Serkin's exquisite playing was ruined by Abbado's uninspired conducting, and other good piano players hadn't got a clue about conducting. Happily we can always return to Casadesus/Szell - and now at bargain price.

This is truly an inspired version of these concertos. Szell and Casadesus work marvellously together to really bring these pieces to life. Casadesus is remarkably short on certain cadenzas, but, while this seems strange at first, the overall effect is to keep the pieces light and radiating a simple beauty. So often these concertos are overburdened with excessive ornamentation that detract from the overall effect of the music. Casadesus manages to ornament beautifully without losing the point of the music. The "Elvira Madigan," despite its overuse, manages to sound fresh and appropriately playful, and the "Coronation" concerto effuses just the right amount of pomp while maintaining enough levity to still sound Mozartian. Previn (one of my all time favorite conductors) makes a short and sweet appearance playing Mozart's "A vous dirai je maman" (aka "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"). It is brilliantly played and a joy to listen to (as one would expect from Previn). Finally, you can't forget the unbeatable price. Absolutely no complaints. If the recordings were not so good as they are this would still be a great buy. So why hesitate?

The most famous of Mozart's piano Concertos widely has never been performed with major expressiveness, elegant phrasing harmonic modulations, sublime thrills and majestic excellence. The main protagonist were Robert Casadesus and Georges Szell that evening of Nov 5 1961 when the members of the Cleveland and the legendary interpreter literally signed for immortality the ethereal bewitchment of this sublime work. They bestowed the K v.of radiant musicality and inimitable freshness. Casadesus makes the piano an extension of his soul and feelings that nobody until this date has been able to equal and nor anything like it surpass

I just can make you sure, that hardly you will find a version so extraordinary, overwhelming and mesmerizing like this one.

A most mercurial and profound interpretation of Mozart's music, more in the mellow French way than the Viennese way. Moreover, Casadesus will show/tell you so much about harmonics and music. Other than Edwin Fischer, who else could make the concertizing pianists feel like beginners? Casadesus certainly could. A very good starting point to learn more about the French school of pianists.

Szell is also a wonder here and this is a most wonderful water colour he has painted here. Cleveland under him ranks as one of the top most ochestras as of right.

The two concertos are quality '61 & '62 recordings, way better than most other Sony recordings with legendary artists: Either the pianist or the conductor alone is well worth the ticket and Previn is just a bonus.

I know words never do justice to music or any other good art, but when listening to
this cd the word "perfect" keeps surfacing. Mozart had that uniquie ability to elicit both beauty and strong emotions, while at the same time building musical architectures (especially in these two piano concertos) reminiscent of those made famous by J.S. Bach. Although I'm not always in agreement with Sony's record execs. on what should be considered essential listening, in this case they are quite accurate in their assessment! As this recording receives A's on all three essential categories: performance, composition, and recording.

I try to imagine what a concert goer must have experienced during the days of Mozart when a piano concerto such as these would premiere. Given that there was no such thing as a recording (outside of sheet music), I now understand why his music was so wildly popular back then. I would even venture to say that these piano concertos are accessible to the average listener of today, if one would invest the time, and were able to undo the connotations that come with the unfortunate commercialization (through movies, commercials, etc..) of classical music.

This CD, which was digitally remastered from analog recordings from 1963-1965, received the coveted Rosette award from the Penguin Guide for Classical Music Mozart: Piano Concertos K.467 & 537; Variations K.265.