COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: Philips Virtuoso
WORKS: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K467; Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K503
PERFORMER: Stephen Kovacevich (piano)LSO/Colin Davis
CATALOGUE NO: 426 077-2 ADD 1973
Stephen Kovacevich has always been a sympathetic and intuitive Mozartian. Upon rehearing his 1973 recordings of K467 and K503 a couple of decades later, I’m impressed at how well they’ve weathered the storms of evolving Classical performance scholarship. Kovacevich plays Mozart’s big C major concertos with arresting originality, though a certain cerebral restraint (not coolness) is noticeable in No. 21’s famous Andante. His cadenzas are in the grand manner, and with impassioned support from Davis and an oversize-sounding LSO, this remains gripping stuff. Michael Jameson
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K467; Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K503
Stephen Kovacevich has always been a sympathetic and intuitive Mozartian. Upon rehearing his 1973 recordings of K467 and K503 a couple of decades later, I’m impressed at how well they’ve weathered the storms of evolving Classical performance scholarship. Kovacevich plays Mozart’s big C major concertos with arresting originality, though a certain cerebral restraint (not coolness) is noticeable in No. 21’s famous Andante. His cadenzas are in the grand manner, and with impassioned support from Davis and an oversize-sounding LSO, this remains gripping stuff. Michael Jameson
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm