Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano Concertos 13 & 20/"I Played Bach When I Was 7" (documentary)

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

 

 

Mitsuko Uchida made her reputation playing Mozart's sonatas and piano concertos. Although she has broadened her palette significantly, it is still Mozart with whom she is most closely identified. This fine DVD presents her playing (and conducting from the piano) two concertos: No.13 in C major K.415 and No.20 in D minor K.466. The performances feature the Camerata Salzburg and were recorded live in the Salzburg Mozarteum 2-4 March 2001. They are lovely, lyrical performances. The smaller forces of the Camerata allow for extreme clarity in the inner voices, offering an unusually nuanced Mozart. There is a deceptive simplicity to No.13, befitting Mozart's stated intentions (in a letter to his Father) when he composed the trio of concertos Nos.11-13: the first he composed in Vienna after arriving there in 1781. He designed them to be enjoyed by the uninitiated (though they knew not why) as well as by connoisseurs (presumably knowing exactly why). Typical Mozartean ambiguity.

Uchida provides a fresh, lilting quality to No.13. She switches gears for the D minor concerto: offering a dark, dramatic, even brooding reading of this perennial favorite. The Camerata woodwinds play superbly. Uchida conducts with leisurely grace and quite expansively, allowing all the instrumentalists their moments to shine. I replayed this concerto immediately. Those of you who find Uchida's inevitable facial expressions distracting, even disconcerting (I am one who does), will be pleased to know that she tones them down somewhat. And as the conductor, she beams them at the orchestra, who appear to be smiling affectionately (albeit enigmatically) throughout their performance. This DVD, although slightly abbreviated in length, is quite good and is definitely a worthwhile investment for those who love Mozart's piano concertos.

The picture format is NTSC, shot full screen in color with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The picture is crystal clear. The region code is 0 worldwide. Sound formats are PCM stereo and DTS 5.1 Digital Surround. Both are superbly clear and well focused with the DTS providing a greater sense of space and nice ambiance from the rear speakers. The menus are in English. Subtitles (for the Bonus film which is in German) are in English, French, Spanish and Chineses. The Bonus film is a 20 minute monologue by Uchida on music, especially the great Germanic composers. Total time of this disc is 92 minutes. The booklet contains an hagiographic essay, extolling Uchida's virtues as an artist. It is a tad over-the-top.

Mozart played superbly makes this disc worthy of serious consideration. Strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

Uchida is one of our finest pianists and one of our best Mozartians. Both performances here are superior and are given excellent sound by DG. The Camerata Salzburg is a superb young ensemble which play splendidly for Uchida, who directs from the piano in masterful fashion. The Concerto No. 13 is a total delight, while the great D Minor gets a perfect presentation of the tragic and comic essences of a classic work. I just wish they'd included some more music as an encore to the two main concerto perfomances, though Uchida's talk (which is called, I think, "I'll Play Bach When I'm 70") is interesting. She talks about how Haydn is closer to Beethoven (or visa versa) than to his younger contemporary Mozart. She makes very interesting points throughout her talk, but I wish that DG had presented the complete performance of Uchida playing Haydn's Sonata in C, Hob. 50, which is some of the best Haydn playing I've ever heard! Let's have some Haydn with Uchida, DG or Phillips, please. There are also several other excerpts of our great pianist playing Schoenberg and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 with Geoffrey Tate conducting, from an excellent EuroArts DVD called "Mozart: Great Piano Concertos," Vol. 1, which includes Concertos Nos. 9, 12 (with Ashkenazy), and 26 (sorry, the pianist's name escapes me, but he's good!). All three of these performances are worth the price. But, back to the present disc, here's an Uchida Wish List (Partly based on what she says on her presentation):Play/Record Haydn; same for Chopin; more Schumann(perhaps the Piano Quintet at Marlboro, where she spends her summers); more Debussy ; play some Mendelssohn; play/record chamber music, and the same for lieder accompaniment (Schubert & Schumann). This is all based on what she mentions on this really treasurable DVD.

The aspect ratio is 4:3 only for the interview feature. The performances are in 16:9.

What amazes me most about this production is that it is currently out of print. With the dreary offerings we get on TV these days I'd think that pieces like this would sell like hot cakes. Sad to think that so many people are missing out on such performances when they can enjoy them at home and not have to fight traffic, parking, concert crowds, and skyrocketed prices. Plus, these works can be enjoyed over and over again with the best seat in the house.

Mitsuko Uchida is an artist of the first order. Some may be put off by her dramatics, but it's obvious she feels the music deeply and her playing confirms it. The two concertos offered here are among Mozart's finest, from my layman's experience. All the same, viewers who are lucky enough to witness them are in for a treat. One thing I'm left with is the desire to see more of Ms. Uchida's work on DVD, especially of the Mozart piano concerti. I do have the one she did on Mozart's #9, which is also outstanding, but would love to see her do Mozart's #23 and #24, among others.

In doing my rating, I have an unreserved five stars for this DVD and recommend it to all music lovers. 200+ years after Mozart wrote these pieces, they are still among the best ever done. The documentary interview with Ms. Uchida is short but revealing. In contrast to what I thought earlier, she is mainly European in her thoughts and training. Born in Japan, she moved to Germany at an early age and has travelled the world. She speaks here in German, with English subtitles, but now regards English as her primary language. Hmmmm. If you have a chance to get this DVD, don't miss out. It is a treasure.

This Salzburg 2001 recording of two Mozart piano concertos in brilliant sound and film is a gem. Mitsuko Uchida is at her best: her stunning technique is complemented, even surpassed, by her deep understanding of the music's spirit. The C major concerto K. 415 is a festive, ceremonial affair with trumpets and drums, full of innovative twists that foreshadow the later Mozart and perhaps even the early Beethoven. Uchida brings it off lovingly with great bravura. In the D minor concerto K. 466 - my favorite of the whole Mozart series - her emotional range from the dark and tempestuous to the sublime is overwhelming. Mitsuko Uchida is no conductor. Still, she holds her own in setting the mood and inspiring the excellent Camerata Salzburg. The fabulous concert-mistress Natalee Chee (who should have been on the podium) discretely and effectively directs the proceedings, and the end result is just wonderful. We are quite fortunate to have three outstanding performances of the D minor on DVD: Uchidas extraverted, proto-romantic and emotionally charged one, Andras Schiff's more introspective, "classicist" and structure-conscious rendition, and the brilliant, sparkling, spontaneous one by Stefan Vladar who takes the concerto (with beautiful ornamentations) rather as a Storm-and-Stress piece. Only Vladar is supported by a real conductor, the great Hartmut Haenchen (see my respective reviews). If you love the piece as I do, get all three. The fourth DVD version with Ivan Klansky and Jiri Belohlavek, fine as it is, sadly never catches fire.

I rate the Mozart D-minor the best piano concerto. Seeing Uchida playing and directing is a magnificent experience!

First the good: The sound, picture and clarity of these performances is great. - In fact, the only distraction here is Uchida's "interesting" way of conducting. She clearly "feels" the music- and more power to her for that, but her off facial contortions are very distracting. I found DVD's of Karajan to be similar.
I like professional conductors who do not feel the need to dance on screen... still, this is an opulent production well worth owning.