Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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 hjmch@aol.com.

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

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.

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.

Very inspirational. Makes me want to sit down and practice for hours. But could I ever be Mitsuko Uchida? Indeed, could anybody? She has such a divine touch...perhaps inspired by Mozart himself(?). Her command of the keyboard, her intuitive genius for this music...listening to her play is like melting into bliss. Definitely superior than the recording made by Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic. Even if you consider any other recordings to be more definitive, it would be an utter SHAME to miss this recording by Uchida. I promise you!

Uchida plays beautifully. Any of these Uchida/Tate collaborations on Mozart's concertos would be a welcome addition to anyone's collection. Sure to be listened to over and over and over again...

Romantic, demonic and noble. full of all charms of Mozart's music. I have several discs of Mozart's piano concertos by the same performers, out of them, this is definitely the best one.

This performance of Mozart's two masterpiece piano concertos are fairly good, especially in the no. 21. But there are some reservations in the 20th that keeps mee giving this CD a higher rating.

The main thing that brings this CD rating down a bit is the recording. While it is uniformaly decent, in general I felt the piano was a bit overwhelmed by the orchestra. I'm not sure if its the actual recording or just Mitsuko Uchida's interpretation but this is a piano concerto and for my taste the piano should be center stage.

In the 20th concerto, her playing is a bit passive for me and this is where she gets overwhelmed by the orchestra. It almost sounds like she is afraid of making this piece sound too romantic so she holds back. And while her technique is flawless, I find it odd at times where she chooses
to use the sustain pedal, most notably at 3:25 and at 8:40 where she plays the broken octave scales with her left hand. While this is certainly a way to play it, it sounds a bit sloppy and it does seem to fit the way she plays the rest of the movement. The same problems occur in the second movement, notably at around 4:50 the winds, especially the flutes seem to be overwhelming the piano. The final movement is done fairly well and as I am not too familiar with it, I had no problems, except some orchestral imbalances (strings vs. winds and horns)

I throughly enjoyed her playing of the 21st concerto, all three movements from start to finish. She seems to have lost any of her reservations she had playing the 20th. Her technique is, again, flawless and her playing in general is well balanced. The balance between piano and orchestra seems much better. Her cadenza in the first movement is also entertaining and well played. The Enlgish Chamber Orchestra is pretty much perfect here and Jeffery Tate does a wonderful job with the conducting.

I realize I was a bit nit-picky with reviewing her playing the 20h. It is a masterpiece, after all, but while it isn't bad I just don't think its the best. But if you get this CD just for the 21st Concerto, I think it is well worth it.

I'm okay with Samantha's comments about the conjuntion betwen orchestra and solo (Uchida). They are in occasions at different intensity or dinamic. Orchestra was a little short. I recommend so the Geza Anda's version of the 21 concerto (sublime).

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a brilliant recording and Uchida does such a fine job playing the piano the Mozart himself would have been pleased. Jeffrey Tate also does a bang up job and one most give him praise for his fine work on this recording. Mozart's music is so accomplished and refined that only three other composers can even said to come close to his talent and skill (Beethoven, Bach and Wagner). Mozart has the ability to make his music sound very simple and easy to play but if one examines a score for a piece written by Mozart then one realizes the complexity and nuances that Mozart is able to put into his "simple" sounding music. This recording per se is a stroke of true brilliance and I definitely give it 5 out of 5 stars without any reservations whatsoever.

Once, a learned music lover was heard to say that no woman was ever a brilliant electrical engineer or a brilliant pianist. Should he listen to this, he would change at least the second half of his pronouncement. The only thing better is to buy the entire Tate/Uchida collection.