This is the latest release
in a series of recordings of the Mozart piano concertos which has
received a good deal of
stick in certain quarters,
quite unjustified, relating to the impact of soloist and orchestra, and
has even led to an acrimonious exchange between Michael Willens and one
reviewer. On the other hand, earlier volumes have not quite risen to
the top five-star ratings awarded by some reviewers.
I’m not a lover of the fortepiano
per se, but I did
enjoy this recording and its predecessors precisely because of the
quality
of the orchestra and solo instrument which received the opprobrium.
This
time the solo instrument is a copy of a different and rather more
mellifluous Walter original from that used in the earlier recordings:
- BIS-SACD-1794: Piano Concertos 9 and 12; Rondo in A -
download
review
- BIS-SACD-1894: Piano Concertos 24 and 25 -
review
and
download
review
- BIS-SACD-1944: Piano Concertos 17 and 26 -
download
review
- BIS-SACD-1964: Piano Concertos 19 and 23 -
download
review
Only the terminally averse to the fortepiano and/or smallish
orchestras need stay away from any of these recordings, of which my top
recommendation so far was for BIS-SACD-1964, if only because it
contains a
performance of my favourite among all these favourites, Piano Concerto
No.23, K488.
The new recording runs it at least a very close second, principally
for the fine performance of Piano Concerto No.20, though that of No.27
also
made me warm to that work as much as any performance that I have heard
of
it. On second hearing I’m inclined to rate this volume even higher
than its predecessor. As before, the solo performances are sprightly
and
stylish with strong orchestral support. I have thought some of the
earlier
releases slightly lacking the last degree of involvement with the
music, but
that comment would apply much less in the present instance, with only
my
very top recommendations for No.20 rivalling or excelling Brautigam and
his
team:
- Stephen Kovacevich with the LSO and Colin Davis - currently
unavailable;
snap
up a copy of the Philips coupling with No.23 if you can
- Clifford Curzon with the ECO/Benjamin Britten or LSO/István Kertesz
(Nos.
20, 23-24, 26-27, Decca Legends 4684912, 2 CDs, or coupled as on BIS,
Nos.
20
and 27, Decca 4767092, download only from
prestoclassical.co.uk,
or Curzon’s complete Decca recordings, 4784389, 23 CDs)
- Alfred Brendel with the ASMF/Neville Marriner (Nos. 19-21, 23 and 24,
Decca
Duo 4422692, 2 CDs)
- Mitsuko Uchida with the ECO/Jeffrey Tate (Nos. 19-23, Decca Duo
4685402).
See
download
review for the Brendel and Uchida, both excellent value on CD
or as
downloads.
As for the competition on the fortepiano, I thought Arthur
Schoonderwoerd a little too Dresden-china-ish in No.20: Accent ACC24365
(with No.21) - see
download
review. Brautigam’s performance is snappier and
free from comparisons with delicate ceramics. Otherwise
fortepiano-seekers
will have to turn to Malcolm Bilson’s complete set with John Eliot
Gardiner and his English Baroque Soloists on DG Archiv (E4631112, 9 CDs
for
around Ł45 or download in 320kb/s mp3 from
7digital.com
for Ł28.99).
Competition is slightly less fierce in No.27, with Clifford
Curzon/Benjamin Britten (see above) and Alfred Brendel/Neville Marriner
(Nos. 9, 15, 22, 25 and 27, Decca Duo 442 571-2 -
review)
my top dogs. If you tend to think of this concerto - as
I usually do - as not quite reaching the Elysian heights of Nos. 20-24,
Brautigam could be the man to make you think again. Certainly I thought
it
far less easy than usual to maintain that point of view after hearing
the
new recording.
I downloaded the recording from
eclassical.com,
where it’s available in 24-bit, CD-quality 16-bit and mp3 sound. The
24-bit version is excellent but even the mp3 sounds fine, which leads
me
confidently to predict that the (SA)CD will also be excellent. The
smallish
orchestra and the solo instrument are well balanced so that the former
sounds full-bodied; not large-scale, but by no means pint-sized or
desiccated as described in those notorious reviews, and the soloist
shines
without being too forward.
I’ve said that I wouldn’t quite have given earlier
volumes that top 5-star rating, but this is the best of the series so
far.
Were we still in the business of awarding stars, I think I might go for
four-and-a-half. 54 minutes is a bit mean for a CD these days; if you
decide
to download from BIS’s sister site, eclassical.com, their policy of
charging per second brings the price down to for the 16-bit and mp3
versions. As I write the 24-bit is also on offer at the same price,
with a
30% discount on BIS-1894; that’s a time-limited offer but the price
will still be competitive after its expiry. The booklet comes as part
of the
deal, in pdf form.
Brian Wilson
Masterwork Index: Mozart Piano
Concerto
20 ~~
Concerto
27
[53:34]
