Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 23 & 24

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

 

 

This is my first time hearing pianist Richard Goode and the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble in a recording of the Mozart Piano Concertos. In a word, they are outstanding.

I have recordings of these two concertos by Brendel/Marriner, Curzon/Kertesz, Ashkenazy (Philharmonia Orchestra), Howard Shelley (London Mozart Players), Barenboim (Berlin Philharmonic), not to mention other pianists whose recordings I have of Concerto no.23, but not 24, or vice versa.

Performancewise, Richard Goode can be very lyrical one moment, poetic the next. His runs are sparkling, his pianissimos very delicate. The Orpheus Chamber Ensemble is superb. If I didn't have so many recordings of the Mozart Piano Concertos, I'd be going out to get the other Goode/Orpheus Chamber Ensemble recordings; that is how impressed I am by their playing and this recording. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that possibly Howard Shelley's Mozart playing is the most poetic of those I have, but Richard Goode is right up there.

Good, clear sound.

Easily the finest interpretation of these two works on CD, as a quick audition will reveal. Such unanimity of thought, such fresh phrasing make this an inspirational experience not to be missed. No problems with the sound at all, a very natural acoustic with a life-like string sound adding to my pleasure of this release, a favourite CD.

I'll make this short & simple. I like the performance, but have a hard time getting past the sound. For some reason the violin sound is completely lacking in the high frequencies. The piano sounds fine, however. I suspect that there was a lot of spotlighting with the microphone placement, and that the violins were recorded too closely. Other recordings I have of various Mozart piano concertos are with Brendel/Marriner, Brendel/Mackerras, O'Conor/Mackerras, Uchida/Tate, Schiff/Vegh. I consider them all the be very fine performances. As far as sound goes, the Goode/Orpheus and Uchida/Tate are my least favorite recordings. The playing by the Orpheus CO is top notch.

I am prompted by Mr. Leghorn's review, who complains about the sound of this recording, to lodge my disagreement. The recording quality is very fine indeed. The jacket notes say merely that these concertos were recorded at "Manhattan Center, NYC". That building, at W.34th Street, has a number of recording venues. I assume that these recordings were taped in Studio 7 ([...]) with its state-of-the-art equipment, using the adjoining Manhattan Ballroom. Note that the producer was Max Wilcox, famous for work with RCA and the recordings of Artur Rubinstein, the Guaneri Quartet, and many others, and winner of 17 Grammy Awards. See: [...]