Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Jeffrey Tate (Conductor), English Chamber Orchestra (Performer, Orchestra), Mitsuko Uchida (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: English Chamber Orchestra, Mitsuko Uchida
• Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Jeffrey Tate
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000040XU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,504 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: 1. Allegro

2. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: 2. Romance

3. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: 3. Allegro assai

4. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ('Elvira Madigan') K. 467: 1. Allegro

5. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ('Elvira Madigan') K. 467: 2. Andante

6. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major ('Elvira Madigan') K. 467: 3. Allegro vivace assai

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It should be a 10, October 5, 2000

By 

Howard J. McHenry (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 (Audio CD)

I disagree with a couple of your reviewers who dispararage Uchida. I think she is great because of her touch, precision, accuracy (to the original intent of the composer), and I have all of her recordings and listen to them frequently.

When I heard the Sonata in A, I fell, and have been an absolute fan of Mitsuko Uchida ever since. I think I have all of her recordings except "Uchida Live," which I understand is out of print. If someone wants to sell me their copy (or if you know where I can obtain one), e-mail me at [e-mail].

I just wish Uchida would do all the Mozart concertos. If I am not mistaken, she has not recorded #15 and #16. Correct me if I am wrong.

I am on the alert list for every Uchida recording that is released, and I encourage everyone to do the same. It is a great experience to hear her play, and I select at least one recording each week for my automobile CD player. In Atlanta traffic, she soothes my nerves.

Howard J. McHenry

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good performance, but not a great recording, July 1, 2000

By 

Lincoln-63542 (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 (Audio CD)

I heard this recording twice when I was visiting a friend and I agree this is a good rendition by Uchida, but cannot compare to Svetlana Stanceva with Alberto Lizzio and the Mozart Festival Orchestra and does not rise to the heights of Vladimir Ashkenazy performance or Murray Perahia's. Reason is that something is missing in these performances: passion, emotional envolvement, surrendering (in the case of the Adagio in K466). I did not notice the languidness in the opening of the 20th., and I do not remember any burst of the Mozartian genious taking over the piano and orchestra. I give a four because it is a good performance, indeed, but I cannot accept it as a great recording.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy, some delicious moments, January 11, 2003

By 

David Robinson (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 (Audio CD)

As the saying goes, "Mozart is Music" and Uchida is Mozart! On this recording, you have two of the most popular Mozart piano concertos in modern performance(that is, played on a very big grand piano--not a fortepiano as they would've been in Mozart's day).

Uchida is crisp and technically correct, though perhaps, as some other reviewers have noted,lacking the passion of other artists' recordings. In the familiar No. 21 ("Elvira Madigan") the cadenzas are Uchidas. In No. 20 the cadenzas are Beethovens--thrilling!

The recording sounds as if it was done in a marble hall of a very grand Chateau, although it was probably done in Waltham Town Hall, London, with some discrete manipulation of the sound. The result is rich and resonant.

I'd personally recommend this for a classical music enthusiast who wanted just one CD of Mozart concertos. But perhaps its even better as a slightly obscure recording to give to a friend who already has a CD by another pianist. It's worth it for the track 3 cadenza alone.