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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Mozart from Brendel and Mackerras,
By
This review is from: "Mozart: Piano Concertos, K271 & K503 " (Audio CD)
I really got this for the Concerto No 9 K271 which I have preferred over many later and more famous Mozart concerti. While Brendel's reading here doesn't replace my favourite performance (by Gulda on Orfeo), it is really excellent - in fact this SACD is enjoyable throughout, and given very fine sound.
The combined ages of the 2 principal artists must be about 150 years, and I think you can tell that from the performances - which is not to suggest at all that they are ponderous or overblown. It's more a question of style: the orchestral sound is rather fuller than I was expecting, but strikes a good balance between crispness of sound with fine woodwind presence, and avoidance of thinness in the strings. Mackerras' accompaniments reminded me rather of Karl Boehm's Mozart: full of wisdom and grandeur but without heaviness. The acoustic (the pretty large Usher Hall in Edinburgh) is generous, but the sound throughout is vivid and well focused, with the piano very well integrated into the aural picture. Generally this will appeal to listeners who like a traditional approach to Mozart piano concerti, but want to avoid too beefy an orchestral contribution. One tiny caveat is that I would perhaps have liked the timpani to be more present (perhaps played with harder sticks?) at various points, most noticeably in K503's opening ritornello - but they are clearly audible, and generally this SACD sounds first-rate. The `Jeunehomme' concerto (K271) typifies Brendel's approach: tempi are fairly orthodox (certainly not particularly slow), although his playing of the central Andantino is quite romantic - which is no bad thing when the playing of soloist and orchestra alike is so pleasing. Similarly he doesn't set off like an express train in the brilliant finale (Gulda and others are faster here), so overall the performance is thoroughly Mozartian and is generally relaxed. His choice of tempo (certainly not too slow) for the finale also means that the lovely slower minuet episode half way through follows on naturally - other performances, like Barenboim's on EMI, rather fall down here as the change in tempo and mood sound rather jarring. The performance of No 25 K503 is actually rather Beethovenian, which seems correct to me for this later work: the orchestral introduction is robust and Brendel's entry is similarly dramatic. Throughout this work the woodwind solos and string playing are really beautiful, and Brendel plays with an ideal combination of power and crisp elegance, especially in the finale. Sonically, this DSD recording is superb - as I have mentioned the acoustic is fairly spacious but the presence of the performers is excellent, with a generous soundstage and tangible depth to the image. I only listened in multichannel, and give this very high marks for the technical side of the recording. I can't recall a piano concerto recording where the solo instrument sounded as good as it does here. The performances are also excellent, so this SACD is very recommendable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alfred Brendel - subtle Mozartean conclusion to an astounding career,
By
This review is from: "Mozart: Piano Concertos, K271 & K503 " (Audio CD)
The Austrian piano legend Alfred Brendel has established himself for a long time as an accomplished interpreter of the Classical Viennese repertory. During his fabulous performing career (spanning more than 60 years), both in live appearances at top-notch international musical venues and in recording sessions (for Philips-Decca labels whose exclusive artist he's been since 1970s), Brendel was constantly returning to his favourite Mozart piano concertos with an always renewed inspiration and robust musical wisdom.
After having recorded in his early forties the complete works for piano and orchestra by Mozart (under Sir Neville Marriner leading the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields) - a version that actually made date by setting very high standards in the XXth century performing style - Alfred Brendel, this time in his late sixties, considered that a proper time had arrived to embark for a new Mozartean concertante account. So, he teamed up the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and his old friend Sir Charles Mackerras to release a new series of 8 Mozart concertos in four CDs recorded between 1998 and 2002. Of course, technical conditions of making recordings have significantly improved meanwhile, so his option could have been regarded as having outer motivations: strictly technical ones. But the real reason of this late approach seems to stem in the fact that Brendel's mellow artistry calls for a fresh look on these everlasting masterpieces, for their re-thinking in terms of an exquisite mature artistry after decades of playing them and meditating on their truths. That long-life musical experience copiously entitled him for such a proceeding and settled the stage for a wonderful achievement. (At about same age Brendel also recorded an delightful series of other 4 CDs comprising a vast amount of Mozart piano sonatas.) However, it is Brendel's serene and crystal-clear conception that shines throughout and makes the main attraction of these new releases. His unmatched insight and infectious fondness of playing turn this legacy-series into a superb sample of musical honesty. It probes an unconditional devotement by a contemporary leading artist to a genius in the history of music and at the same time offers a consistent source of joy to all Brendel aficionados. The balance between playfulness and thoughtfulness is magically realized. The improvisational vein and deep feelings, the classical poise, the seductive wit and the noble melancholy - all are there in Brendel's rendition drawing that long invoked image of Mozart, the genius "smiling through tears". Brendel reached that ineffable level of music-making where any comment on his fabulous technical and musical skills falls in superfluous. No stupefying speed, no hail on keyboard, no outrageous fortissimos, but subtleties, crystal-clear finger-work and a refined poised touch instead. But such applied analyses and dissection of means are suitable for great pianists. For Great Musicians as Brendel the discussion goes far beyond such details, since his account seems to me to unveil a conversation with one of the Gods of Music on equal footing. Useless to be added that this CD is a must for all music lovers!
5.0 out of 5 stars
at the top of his game!,
By
This review is from: "Mozart: Piano Concertos, K271 & K503 " (Audio CD)
"at the top of his game" is a phrase to me that has derogatory insinuation but it's not meant to be-- for I have high respects for Maestro Brendel, especially when he's playing Mozart, which in this case is immensely fascinating--I should say-- extremely good.
Bravo Brendel!
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