|
|
Amazon.com's Price: $16.98 Prices subject to change.Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Audio CDEAN: 0028941638120 Label: Philips Manufacturer: Philips MPN: 416381 Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Philips Release Date: October 25, 1990 Studio: Philips Editorial Review: Amazon.com essential recording: Mozart's greatest piano concertos bring together so many elements identified with his style that they offer an ideal introduction to their composer's uniqueness. This is especially the case with the well-loved pair Nos. 20 and 21, which were produced in one fertile outburst in 1785. Here you will find both the dramatic flair and the comic high spirits of Mozart's tragic and comic operas, the last symphonies' breadth and polyphonic ingenuity (especially in the lengthy first movement of No. 21), and the conversational intimacy of the chamber music. This recording is one of several collaborations between conductor Jeffrey Tate and Mitsuko Uchida. In the wake of such legendary interpreters as Clifford Curzon, the Japanese pianist established a reputation in the '80s as one of the finest contemporary Mozarteans for her combination of poetic sensitivity and thoughtful involvement. Uchida plays with characteristic poise and never settles for superficial prettiness of sound (notice, for example, the sense of suspense she brings to the extended trill left hovering shortly into the soloist's entrance in No. 21). The restless, tragic momentum of No. 20 glows with inner fire, while Uchida's singing grace of line conveys an almost vocal warmth. There is sympathetic balance of soloist against orchestra (which features superb contributions from the winds), as well as a sure grasp of Mozart's larger structural symmetries. As an alternative to the extremes of period-instrument orthodoxy and romantic excess, this disc belongs in the collection of any lover of Mozart. --Thomas May Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Good performance with some minor flaws.This performance of Mozart's two masterpiece piano concertos are fairly good, especially in the no. 21. But there are some reservations in the 20th that keeps mee giving this CD a higher rating. The main thing that brings this CD rating down a bit is the recording. While it is uniformaly decent, in general I felt the piano was a bit overwhelmed by the orchestra. I'm not sure if its the actual recording or just Mitsuko Uchida's interpretation but this is a piano concerto and for my taste ... Read More Rating: - Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a brilliant recording and Uchida does such a fine job playing the piano the Mozart himself would have been pleased. Jeffrey Tate also does a bang up job and one most give him praise for his fine work on this recording. Mozart's music is so accomplished and refined that only three other composers can even said to come close to his talent and skill (Beethoven, Bach and Wagner). Mozart has the ability to make his music sound very simple and ... Read More Rating: - Wonderful!Mozart was one of a kind! Truly beautiful piano work. JM Rating: - Yummy, some delicious momentsAs the saying goes, "Mozart is Music" and Uchida is Mozart! On this recording, you have two of the most popular Mozart piano concertos in modern performance(that is, played on a very big grand piano--not a fortepiano as they would've been in Mozart's day). Uchida is crisp and technically correct, though perhaps, as some other reviewers have noted,lacking the passion of other artists' recordings. In the familiar No. 21 ("Elvira Madigan") the cadenzas are Uchidas. In No. 20 the cadenzas are Beethovens ... Read More Rating: - GenialI'm okay with Samantha's comments about the conjuntion betwen orchestra and solo (Uchida). They are in occasions at different intensity or dinamic. Orchestra was a little short. I recommend so the Geza Anda's version of the 21 concerto (sublime). |
