Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano Quartets Nos. 1 & 2, K. 478, 493

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

 

 

With a consistency of interpretation and authenticity that beggars criticism, Mozart's undeniably glowing piano quartets spring warmly to life in the fraternal hands of Ax, Stern, Laredo and Ma. There is no streamlining here; the performances retain an endearing rough and ready quality so contagious, so fresh, so vital that the rare musical melding allows the listener immediate emotional entree. Tempi are insightfully and affectionately judged, the balance between slow and fast movements, perfectly contrasted. Ax, true to the composer, gives the piano a voice amongst the strings, acting very much the representative compass. Stern is particularly lyrical here, and Laredo liberates the second violin with a melodious sensitivity; Ma's cello adds an outstanding autumnal stability to the whole. The recording is exceptionally realistic and present, with each instrument beautifully engaged. This is self-recommending, glorious "hausmusik" intimately, yet spontaneously re-defined by a stellar ensemble.

[Running time: 55:37]

These two "Piano Quartets" are Mozart at his most magnificent. The team of Ma, Ax, Stern and Laredo, who also brought us classic chamber recordings by Beethoven, Brahms, Faure, and most recently Dvorak, here tackle Mozart with glowing results. I have to say that while I'm a huge fan of Yo-Yo Ma and Isaac Stern, I can be luke warm about Emanuel Ax . While I don't dispute his virtuosity, I sometimes have found his playing style cold and uninspiring. Oh, but not here! This quartet's playing is wonderfully telepathic, and they make the music jump off the page. There's even a little improvising going on, and while it may not be of the same volume and nature as the Classic Coltrane Quartet, it is of similar quality. This Mozart "Piano Quartets" is an essential purchase for serious fans, and a great introduction for newcomers.

The sound quality is excellent, and the artistry can't be beat. The only surprise is that four superstars like these, each of whom has a well-established career, can work so seamlessly together to produce such a beautiful sound. Anyone who hasn't heard these quartets and who finds Mozart's symphonies less compelling than his operas and concerti, and I include myself in this category, will enjoy these pieces.

Superb performances nearly undone by Ax's swinish insensitivity in the slow movements. Oh he's fine enough when the going's going -- when things are bouncing along nicely. But when the music calls for the utmost in slow heart-easing palpation of the melos (the beginning of K 478's middle movement, for example), forget it! He refuses to phrase or pace with any deep understanding of this very deep music.

Rubinstein does much better with the Guarneri, and Ax makes one wish Adolf Busch, Karl Doktor, Hermann Busch and Rudolf Serkin had recorded the works back in the thirties.

Otherwise not a bad disc.