Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25, K. 491,503

Wolfgang A. Mozart (Composer), Neville Marriner (Conductor), Academy St. Martins in the Fields (Orchestra), Ivan Moravec (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Ivan Moravec
• Orchestra: Academy St. Martins in the Fields
• Conductor: Neville Marriner
• Composer: Wolfgang A. Mozart
• Audio CD (August 1, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hanssler Classics
• ASIN: B000003JSS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,296 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, not the Best, Though...., February 23, 2002

By 

R. Williams "code slubber" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25, K. 491,503 (Audio CD)

First, if you don't have 24 or haven't heard it, it is one of the greatest pieces in the standard repertoire. Of Mozart's 27 piano concerti, only two are in minor keys (20 and 24) and this one is, to my mind, in the top two or three. (I like 22 about as much; while 24 is in C minor, 22 is in Eb major, whose relative minor is C minor. 22 has quite a few episodes of sturm und drang that presage this work. Composing pieces in a minor key was frowned on in Mozart's day; with 20, he finagled his way out of it by tacking on a major key ending, in 24, it stays dark all the way to the bitter end.)

It's hard to say anything bad about a disc that has so much going for it, but ultimately, it adds up to less than it could have. First, on the positive side, the sound is absolutely amazing. I can't imagine how any engineers could hope to get a better recording of a piano concerto. The balance between the piano and the orchestra is perfect. The orchestra sound is deep and warm, but not smarmy sounding. The sound of the piano is also fabulous. These two pieces could hardly be better works to test the integrative faculties of the engineers, and on that, they pass with flying colors.

The performances are great, but I disagree with the other reviewer who claims these are the best ever. Quite often in 24, the tempo seems amiss. Sometimes 24 is played as absurdly Romantic sounding, but here, they seem to have chosen to slow down parts of it to increase the drama, which is pretty annoying to anyone who has heard this piece a lot of times. Some of the tempi are more like Mahler than Mozart, which is just plain weird. And this piece doesn't need any help in the drama department. Also, Moravec's cadenza in 24 is disappointing, in my opinion. I had the Sony recording with Cadesus, so I'm a bit biased, but the cadenza breaks up the piece at a key point and inserts an interlude that is out of sorts with the other material.

I'd still recommend this, though, just wouldn't have it as my only performance. I'm going to keep looking...

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exhilarating ride, December 7, 1999

By 

William D. Bradford (Chelmsford, MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25, K. 491,503 (Audio CD)

In this whole series of Mozart piano concertos, Moravec unfailingly strikes that wonderful and ever-changing balance between play and elegance, wit and pathos that makes Mozart so great.

I get so carried away with the sheer fun of these performances that I'm often oblivious to their considerable virtuosity. I suspect that's the point.

For my money, these Mozart Concertos are even better than Annie Fischer's, which I hadn't thought was possible.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 & 25, K. 491,503 (Audio CD)

This is quite simply the greatest performance of Mozart's 24th piano concerto yet recorded. Move over Brendel, Ashkenazy, and Pires; Moravec has proven yet again why he's one of the greatest pianists alive. He spends a minimum of two years working to perfect new additioins to his repetoire, and it shows. Music-making at its very best.