Mozart Piano Concertos: No. 20 in D minor, K466; No. 21 in C, K467 ‘Elvira Madigan’; No. 23 in A, K488; No. 27 in B flat, K595 Elizabeth Sombart (piano); Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Pierre Vallet Rubicon RCD1109 124:05 mins (2 discs)
Although Elizabeth Sombart uses a modern concert grand piano, with orchestral accompaniment to match, none of these resources is deployed to turbocharge Mozart’s Classical poise in any way. Her choice of tempos is fairly expansive, but not to excess; her keyboard tone is equable and appealing; and she avoids surface effect in favour of a genuine instinct to search out the expressive heart of these peerless masterworks.
In musical terms, however, sometimes enough just doesn’t happen. In the D minor Concerto, K466, Sombart’s insistence on avoiding Beethoven-like turbulence, while admirable in itself, results in an intepretation that feels under-characterised; the finale’s concluding switch from D minor into D major lacks the feeling of bounding release that the moment surely implies. Throughout the A major Concerto, K488, Sombart’s way of allowing tempo to shift quite freely, in response to the expressive moment, often makes it quite hard to sense what the underlying main tempo actually is. Mozart’s last Concerto, K595 in B flat, seems to suit her style more, and its quality of musing loveliness is likeably captured. And Pierre Vallet’s conducting of the Royal Philharmonic has the orchestral accompaniments sounding fresh at every point.
Malcolm Hayes