COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: Teldec Digital Experience
WORKS: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A K488; Piano Concerto No. 26 in D K537 (Coronation)
PERFORMER: Friedrich Gulda (piano); Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/Nikolaus Harnoncourt
CATALOGUE NO: 4509-92150-2 DDD (1984)
Free of the mannerisms and miscalculations which often spoil his period instrument performances with Concentus Musicus, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the thinking man’s Mozartian, demonstrates once again his perfect empathy with the very different, 19th-century based approach of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In other hands K537 may be more grand, K488 more smiling, but it’s hard to deny the unerring logic with which the purely musical argument is conveyed. And Gulda proves a sympathetic complement, offering crisp passage-work and a depth and clarity of tone well-matched to the orchestra’s sonorous weight and lucid textures. Excellent sound. Antony Bye
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A K488; Piano Concerto No. 26 in D K537 (Coronation)
Free of the mannerisms and miscalculations which often spoil his period instrument performances with Concentus Musicus, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the thinking man’s Mozartian, demonstrates once again his perfect empathy with the very different, 19th-century based approach of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In other hands K537 may be more grand, K488 more smiling, but it’s hard to deny the unerring logic with which the purely musical argument is conveyed.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:07 pm