Mozart: Piano Concertos K271 & K414 / Robert Levin, AAM, Hogwood

On this CD:

1. Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major ("Jeunehomme") K. 271
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Academy of Ancient Music (UK)
Conducted by Christopher Hogwood

2. Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414 (K. 385p)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by Academy of Ancient Music (UK)
Conducted by Christopher Hogwood

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Robert Levin's Mozart concerto series continues with great success. Again he improvises his own cadenzas to the Concertos, just as Mozart would have done, and decorates the written text with little embellishments and flourishes. Most of the time, though, he just plays what Mozart wrote, bringing it to life with his animated and intelligent playing. There are already two sets of Mozart piano concertos on period instruments in the catalog. Malcolm Bilson's (Archiv) is wonderful, and although I haven't heard Jos van Immerseel's (Channel Classics), I'm told it's also very good. But if you can't splurge on Mozart, what's money good for? --Leslie Gerber

Mozart: Piano Concertos K271 & K414 / Robert Levin, AAM, Hogwood, Music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood, Robert Levin, Classical, Classical Music, Concerto, Piano Concerto

"Mozart: Piano Concertos, K271 & K503 "
Average customer rating:

Excellent Mozart from Brendel and Mackerras

"Mozart: Piano Concertos, K271 & K503 "
Mozart , Brendel , Mackerras , and Sco
Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 22 & 27

Mozart: Piano Concertos K414 & K453

Mozart: Piano Concertos no 20 & 27 / Perahia, English CO

ASIN: B000079BGD
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Mozart from Brendel and Mackerras.......2005-06-08

I really got this for the Concerto No 9 K271 which I have preferred over many later and more famous Mozart concerti. While Brendel's reading here doesn't replace my favourite performance (by Gulda on Orfeo), it is really excellent - in fact this SACD is enjoyable throughout, and given very fine sound.

The combined ages of the 2 principal artists must be about 150 years, and I think you can tell that from the performances - which is not to suggest at all that they are ponderous or overblown. It's more a question of style: the orchestral sound is rather fuller than I was expecting, but strikes a good balance between crispness of sound with fine woodwind presence, and avoidance of thinness in the strings. Mackerras' accompaniments reminded me rather of Karl Boehm's Mozart: full of wisdom and grandeur but without heaviness.

The acoustic (the pretty large Usher Hall in Edinburgh) is generous, but the sound throughout is vivid and well focused, with the piano very well integrated into the aural picture. Generally this will appeal to listeners who like a traditional approach to Mozart piano concerti, but want to avoid too beefy an orchestral contribution.

One tiny caveat is that I would perhaps have liked the timpani to be more present (perhaps played with harder sticks?) at various points, most noticeably in K503's opening ritornello - but they are clearly audible, and generally this SACD sounds first-rate.

The `Jeunehomme' concerto (K271) typifies Brendel's approach: tempi are fairly orthodox (certainly not particularly slow), although his playing of the central Andantino is quite romantic - which is no bad thing when the playing of soloist and orchestra alike is so pleasing.

Similarly he doesn't set off like an express train in the brilliant finale (Gulda and others are faster here), so overall the performance is thoroughly Mozartian and is generally relaxed. His choice of tempo (certainly not too slow) for the finale also means that the lovely slower minuet episode half way through follows on naturally - other performances, like Barenboim's on EMI, rather fall down here as the change in tempo and mood sound rather jarring.

The performance of No 25 K503 is actually rather Beethovenian, which seems correct to me for this later work: the orchestral introduction is robust and Brendel's entry is similarly dramatic. Throughout this work the woodwind solos and string playing are really beautiful, and Brendel plays with an ideal combination of power and crisp elegance, especially in the finale.

Sonically, this DSD recording is superb - as I have mentioned the acoustic is fairly spacious but the presence of the performers is excellent, with a generous soundstage and tangible depth to the image.

I only listened in multichannel, and give this very high marks for the technical side of the recording. I can't recall a piano concerto recording where the solo instrument sounded as good as it does here. The performances are also excellent, so this SACD is very recommendable.

Mozart: Piano Concertos K271 & K414 / Robert Levin, AAM, Hogwood

Average customer rating:

Mozart: Piano Concertos K271 & K414 / Robert Levin, AAM, Hogwood
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , The Academy of Ancient Music , Christopher Hogwood , and Robert Levin
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000004CYE
Release Date: 1994-08-16

Tracks:

Pno Con No.9 in E flat, K271: I. Allegro
Pno Con No.9 in E flat, K271: II. Andantino
Pno Con No.9 in E flat, K271: III. Rondeau: Presto
Pno Con No.12 in A, K414: I. Allegro
Pno Con No.12 in A, K414: II. Andante
Pno Con No.12 in A, K414: III. Rondeau: Allegretto

Amazon.com

Robert Levin's Mozart concerto series continues with great success. Again he improvises his own cadenzas to the Concertos, just as Mozart would have done, and decorates the written text with little embellishments and flourishes. Most of the time, though, he just plays what Mozart wrote, bringing it to life with his animated and intelligent playing. There are already two sets of Mozart piano concertos on period instruments in the catalog. Malcolm Bilson's (Archiv) is wonderful, and although I haven't heard Jos van Immerseel's (Channel Classics), I'm told it's also very good. But if you can't splurge on Mozart, what's money good for? --Leslie Gerber

Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 9 K271, No. 17 K453

Average customer rating:

Exquisitely done in good sound but perhaps not the final word

Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 9 K271, No. 17 K453

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000000APN
Release Date: 1992-10-28

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 9 In E Flat Major, K271: I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 9 In E Flat Major, K271: II. Andantino
Piano Concerto No. 9 In E Flat Major, K271: III. Rondo: Presto
Piano Concerto No. 17 In G Major, K453: I. Allegro
Piano Concerto No. 17 In G Major, K453: II. Andante
Piano Concerto No. 17 In G Major, K453: III. Allegretto - Presto

Customer Reviews:

Exquisitely done in good sound but perhaps not the final word.......2006-08-03

I'd read much about pianist Howard Shelley -- mainly in the English press -- and never heard him perform before buying this disk of Mozart concertos 9 and 17. I sought a new recording of the Concerto 17 and liked the pairing here.

I think kudos are due pianist Shelley and possibly more than that is due the London Mozart Players (David Juritz, leader) for their inspired play and the way they follow the lead of Shelley, who conducts from the piano.

Shelley has a wonderful tone and his technique is faultless. His shimmering slow movements are a perfrect foil to the high energy he provides in allegros. His tone is always bright and full, as good as it can be on a modern grand piano. The Mozart Players are fully with him all the way, all the time, and play with much gusto.

Shelley is a better conductor from the keyboard than most soloists that conduct their own recordings. There is typically a tendency to gloss over important solo parts in the orchestral tutti from virtuosos turned conductor. Not here, for evey important part in the orchestra is well-played and you can always hear it without the solo line being affected.

In addtion, Chandos' sound is truthful and full, bright without being overlit, with depth that mimics what you would hear in the best concert hall.

I don't count failures on this 1991 recording, which earned a three star rating in the Penguin Guide and arrived at my home with a stamp on the cover saying it was a three star selection in the Penguin Guide. What I will fault, though, is my disinterest in the Mozartian style taken by the soloist.

My main point of disinterest is the amount of pedal used by the soloist and the way it vibrates through the recording venue and recording itself. I thought this was simply too much of a romantic technique. The relative beauty of tone and sound is another fault line that produced a temblor for me. I am not akin to hearing such beautiful Mozart...Mozart patterned after Chopin.

My idea of appropriate Mozart is the way Brendel did the Concerto 17 in 1959 for his Vox Box recordings. I also enjoy the complete set of Mozart concertos by Rudolf Buchbinder. What these Germans have in common is a simpler, more pedal free and down to earth approach that lets me hear Mozart think.

This CD, by contast, gives you a lot of audio stimuli that, I believe, lets you know more about how Shelley feels about the music. If this sounds like something that appeals to you, then you will go ga-ga over this CD.

As my 4 star rating suggests, it is an above average performance by any standard, exceptionally well supported by the orchestra, and more than exceptionally well directed by the soloist, who may be a better conductor than pianist. Good notes fill out this package.

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 13 (K271 & K415)

Average customer rating:

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 13 (K271 & K415)

Manufacturer: London / Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000E439
Release Date: 1990-03-30

Average customer rating:

As good as the others with Brendel/Mackerras
Another Fine Recent Brendel Mozart Piano Concerti Recording
Another Fine Recent Brendel Mozart Piano Concerti Recording

Mozart: Piano Concertos, K271 & K503

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005YX6D
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.9 In E Flat Major, K271 'Jeunehomme': I Allegro
Piano Concerto No.9 In E Flat Major, K271 'Jeunehomme': II Andantino
Piano Concerto No.9 In E Flat Major, K271 'Jeunehomme': III Rondeau: Presto - Menuetto: Cantabile - Tempo Primo
Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503: I Allegro Maestoso
Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503: II Andante
Piano Concerto No.25 In C Major, K503: III (Allegretto)

Customer Reviews:

As good as the others with Brendel/Mackerras.......2002-05-24

I rank Brendels last Mozart piano concert discs togheter with Sir Charles Mackerras extremly high (and also including his last Mozart Sonata disc) and this one is as good as the others, of course dependeng on if you like choosen concertos).

I hope they go through all the great concertos again because Brendel seems to be better and better with Mozart.

Mozarts no.9 K271 ("Jeunehomme") is not "in" the big ones but "outside" those called the "great" it is the best and it is typical lyrical Mozart with a not so big support orchestra as in the huge no. 25 K503 in C-major.

Overall if you like Mozarts pianoconcertos you cant go wrong choosing Brendel because he is one of the greatest pianists ever and a Mozart (and Schubert, Schumann and Schoenberg) expert playing CLASICCAL PERIOD music as it was and is ment to be played meaning without romanticm in it.

Good orchestra support from Scottich Chamber Orchestra (maybe a BIT "Heavy" but no.25, K503 IS heavy).

Brendel plays fantastic, sound is great and I also recommend Brendels Mozart pianoconcero 22 and 27 togheter with same conductor even more because I like those concertos more and it has same orchestra as on this but if you like "jeunehomme" and no.25 this is the best choice and you cant go wrong with any of them

Of course highly recommended

Another Fine Recent Brendel Mozart Piano Concerti Recording.......2002-05-16

Fans of Alfred Brendel's technically proficient, elegant playing will have more reason to rejoice in this CD, the latest in what may be an ongoing new Mozart piano concerto cycle. Brendel's elegant performances of Mozart's 9th and 25th piano concerti are among his finest, blessed with expressive, introspective playing. While these may not be as dramatic as performances I've heard from the likes of Ashkenazy and Moravec, they still count as splendid interpretations of Mozart's music. Once again he is blessed with having as splendid accompanists Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The sound quality is excellent.

Another Fine Recent Brendel Mozart Piano Concerti Recording.......2002-05-16

Music Review: