Customer Reviews

Piano Concerti 1-27

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am glad to read the enthusiastic Amazon.com reviews on Anda's Mozart cycle, because during the 80s and 90s his kind of playing and interpreting Mozart was not very much appreciated by some prominent (mostly German) critics who thought of it to be 'cold'. But since Anda's great EMI recordings of the 1950s have been reissued on CD we have become aware that he is one of the very few pianists in the 20th century who were able to reconcile virtuosity with musicality and taste. His interpretation of the mozart concertos will remain as a milestone in the history of piano playing.

Possibly the finest complete cycle of Mozart Piano Concertos ever made permanent, the Geza Anda cycle still maintains a hold on me. With recording dates spanning the years 1961-1969, there is a sameness to the recorded sound which suggests having been recorded within days of each other. Credit recording engineer Gunther Hermanns for not allowing equipment to stand in the way of art. In comparision to the original vinyl versions, this bargain basement edition looses little in terms of sonics; Amazing! I must admit I hesitated in buying this, thinking oh, at the price, I'll bet they messed with the sound. Well, thankfully I'm proven wrong I remember at the time of the release of the film Elvira Madigan some critic wondering why such a (then) old reading of the 21st piano concerto was included in the film. Well, the Anda reading so perfectly matched the visual beauty of the film that there could have been no other. It still holds true today. Anda, conducting from the piano, (as Mozart himself did) was a fully matured artist by this time; Having mastered Bartok, he set upon a redefinition of the canon of Mozart. It has certainly weather time well; Indulge yourself, you will never regret this buying decision.

Anda's Mozart piano concerto cycle was the first to be recorded almost in its entirety by one soloist and orchestra. It was also the first to have the orchestra under the soloist's direction. Recorded over the span of several years, these performances still sound quite vividly clear and crisp. The sound quality on these recordings is absolutely first rate. Credit is due to Deutsche Grammophon's recording engineers; these are some of the label's best recordings from the 1960's. As a soloist, Anda gives introspective readings of Mozart's scores which lack the exuberance of Daniel Barenboim's performances with the English Chamber Orchestra, but are as polished as Alfred Brendel's with the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner's direction. Most noteworthy are his performances of the 14th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 26th and 27th concerti, but the others sound fine too. Those looking for a relatively inexpensive set of Mozart piano concerti won't be disappointed with Anda's cycle.

EVEN IF I WERE A VIRTUOSO PIANIST, WHICH I AM NOT, I WOULD GIVE MR ANDA 5 STARS. HIS PERFORMANCE IS EXCELLENT IN EVERY SINGLE CONCERTO. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION MOZART WOULD BE HAPPY.

The Penguin Guide, among other reviewers, has been ever-so slighting in their appraisal of this cycle. And, truth to tell, there are weaknesses: some of the performances of the more famous concerti, the two in minor key especially (no 20 in D Minor and no 24 in C Minor) are rather lackluster, even bland. (To me, the greatest recording of this pair is still that with Denis Matthews on Vanguard with the Vienna state Opera Orchestra-- which coupled the two minor key works on one disc-- sadly unavailable on CD.) [**UPDATE**: Vanguard has finally released the Denis Matthews recordings of the D Minor and C Minor, on a double CD with performances of the "Jeunhomme" Concerto Op. 271 by Brendel, and the no. 17 by Gulda-- look for it!] Yet some other works are given benchmark performances: both "Coronation" Concertos, no 19 in F, with its magnificent fugal finale, and the often denigrated no. 26 in D, are my favorite recordings of each [for a time DG had the pair available as a separate disc, may they do so again!]; the beautiful slow movement of no 23 in A is among the most beautiful renderings on record. And among the performances of the much lesser-known, generally neglected concerti, a couple are outstanding: no. 5 in D, for example -- Mozart's first entirely original concerto (nos. 1-4 were based on other composer's works, notably J.Christian Bach's)-- is given a rousing go. Most of all, the totally wonderful and inexplicably unappreciated no. 16 in D, K. 451-- a work Mozart himself loved and was very proud of, yet condemned by some critics as "impersonal" (Charles Rosen said of it, "this is not the Mozart we love...") -- well, this is the finest performance of the work I have ever heard, and I have heard a many: exciting, engaging, brilliant. The first movement is a perfect eidolon of the Classical concerto. One can well hear why Mozart was so proud of it. Unfortunately, these concerto recordings (nos.5 and 17) are not available except in this set: I wish DG would issue them on a single disc, so that folks could have them without having to buy the entire cycle. Still, though hardly the finest set available, when it shines it does so brightly: the orchestra is excellent, the DG sound very good, and Anda's playing is generally first rate (though I find some of his cadenzas to be a bit out of character for the work). I don't regret having bought the set, though, especially for the recordings of nos. 5, 16, 17, 19, 23, and 26. And though I give the collection five stars for these (and some of the other) performances, truth to tell, considering those other, lackluster renditions I mentioned, it might really deserve only 4. But when the performances are good, they are very good indeed.

For those a bit astonished and depressed by the curt dismissal of Mozart's genius in the review below--largely, I gather, because the composer did not equate profundity with tonnage--please note that the same reviewer gave a rave review to, of all things, Wilhelm Furtwangler's Second Symphony--a tedious work that has been on artificial life support now for over fifty years solely due to the magic of that conductor's name. Knocking Mozart (and Beethoven, and Bach, and Wagner, and Brahms in turn) is a recurring fad that crops up during eras when the citizenry get uppity about their betters (largely due to ignorance or inattention) or become all bedazzled by superficialities.

I am reminded of a famous comment by Donald Francis Tovey in regard to the 19th century critic Hanslick, and I paraphrase:

"I have read Hanslick's collected works patiently and have not found either in his patronage of Brahms or his attacks on Wagner...any knowledge of anything whatsoever. Hanslick's writings represent one of the unlovelier forms of parasitism; that which having the wealth to collect objets d'art and the birth and education to talk amusingly does not itself attempt a stroke of artistic work, does not dream of revising a first impression, experiences the fine arts entirely as the pleasures of a gentleman, and then pronounces judgement as if the expression of its opinion were a benefit and duty to society"

Thankfully the reviewer seemed to miss the fact that this set is out of print and has been reissued in a newer cheaper incarnation accompanied by rave reviews. Head to that!

One last thing, what would be fun and edifying is to have someone like Peter Schickele do a version of Mozart's 40th symphony as if written by Anton Bruckner.