Customer Reviews

Mozart - Piano Concertos No. 22, K482 ~ No. 23, K488 / Levin, AAM, Hogwood

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Initially, I found it took some time to adjust to unique sound of the authentic repro fortepiano used on this cd, since I am to used hearing Mozart's concertos on a modern concert grand. However, after listening to these insightful and exciting versions, one can get a real sense of what Mozart and his orchestra would have sounded like when he performed these works in Vienna during the 1780s. No. 23 is one of my very favorite concertos, and the andante is among the most tragic that Mozart ever composed. At certain moments, however, perhaps because of the very nature of the instrument, the orchestra drowns out the fortepiano, but at other times the unique accoustics and intimate sound of the instrument add a "new" and breathtaking quality to Mozart's score that cannot be reproduced on a modern piano. Robert Levin and Chris Hogwood have long been recognized as two of the most respected Mozart experts in the world, and it shows on this hard to find but very satisfying disc. If you can find this cd, don't pass it up!

Robert Levin is unique. Not only does he understand Mozart to the core, but he also dares to touch the master's piano works with his own embellishments in a way that most assuredly Mozart would have approved. This recording of both the piano concertos numbers 23 and 22 as assisted by Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music is as perfect a recording of these two works as is available. Not everyone will agree with Levin's electing to add his own cadenzas to these works, but his practice is a well established one historically and for this listener adds to the beauty and humor of each work.

Robert Levin is a performer. He is currently playing the K. 482 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under guest conductor Nicholas McGegan and in being present at one of his performances the audience is allowed to see that at few times during the entire concerto does Levin not play along with the orchestral portions - quietly, not disturbing the work, but present none the less. His cadenzas expand with each performance atmosphere and he is completely involved with conductor, orchestra and audience (as is his trait, he offers the audience the opportunity at concerto's end to submit small written lines of musical tunes and then composes a Fantasia on the themes he chooses...not always inspired, but entertaining...).

But the major reason for paying attention to Robert Levin is his intellectual and emotional involvement with the music. And that aspect of his talent is readily apparent in this fine recording. Grady Harp, December 10

... for the "fortepiano", his own performing instrument. He knew exactly what the expressive resources of the instrument were. He knew how much 'power' could be demanded of it in a concerto, that is, in concert with a small orchestra. He did not know how to compose for the larger, louder three-pedal piano of a century or two centuries later, an instrument with significantly different timbre and , yes, greater 'resources'. Had he been offered a modern grand, no doubt he would have written wonderful music for it. But he wasn't, and he didn't. Is that an extreme manifesto from a fervent partisan of "original instruments" and "historically informed performance practices"? Why, of course! Have I made myself plain?

Robert Levin is perhaps the geekiest pianist on Earth, a truly nonchalant and intimate stage presence, simultaneously professorial and informal. I've know him to stop in the middle of a recital to explain why he's playing a passage in a certain manner. I've heard him invite members of the audience to suggest themes from Mozart's oeuvre for him to improvise upon. He is, if I can make my meaning clear, more a Musician than a Concert Pianist; he'd rather play a piece interestingly than perfectly. He's a speed demon, true, but he makes it seem quite likely that Wolfi was another. He really, truly does improvise his cadenzas, but of course any improvising musician knows that improvisation is more recollection than invention. Sometimes his improvisations hopscotch a tad too far, modulating toward Schumann or Brahms, but that's not the case on this CD. If Levin is irrepressible and impish, Christopher Hogwood is as serene and steady as the Habsburg Monarchy must have seemed in Mozart's lifetime. They make a successful 'marriage'. Levin is a much more resourceful and exciting fortepianist than Derek Han (whose recordings of the Mozart Piano Concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra are included in the Brilliant Classics Complete Mozart edition), and Hogwood is a more 'refined' conductor than Paul Freeman or several others of greater prominence. My only reservation about recommending this particular CD is pragmatic; I wonder whether Levin and Hogwood haven't recorded a complete set of the concertos, to be released in the future.

[That BC Complete Mozart box, by the way, is not ultimately very satisfying, with more than half of the included performances second-rate or worse.]

On the other hand, if you are a recalcitrant skeptic about the musical worth of the sort of "toy piano" that Mozart himself played, I urge you to give this CD a fair trial. You may hear beauties in the music that more 'Romantic' interpreters have obscured.

Mozart completed the Piano Concerto No. 22 (K482) in December 1785 and No. 23 (K488) in March 1786. An innovation for both concerti is the inclusion of clarinets in the score. Clarinets were gaining in prominence during the period and the inclusion of the instrument indicates that performers were more available. Piano Concerto No 22 is the longest that Mozart composed, clocking in at over 30 minutes. The second movement in C minor recalls his Piano Concerto No. 9, also in the key of E major. The 23rd has long been a favorite due in part to the joyous Rondo finale.

This recording is noteworthy as pianist Robert Levin improvises the cadenzas, as was the custom during Mozart's life, and thereby captures the spirit of the first performance. It may seem a bit pedantic to improvise the cadenzas but the decision, as Robert Levin explains in the notes, was not taken lightly. The instrument used in the recording is a copy of an Anton Walter made in Vienna ca. 1795. The performances of the concertos are beautifully conceived with a perfect balance between the instruments. The notes provide good insights into the music and period performance. Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music have never sounded better. If you have these concertos in performances with modern instruments, this disc will be an interesting alternative.