Mozart Piano Concerto 24

Started by Mandryka, November 22, 2011, 09:01:22 PM

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Mandryka



Another very "wide awake" , extremely dynamic performance from the orchestra led by van Beinum, I've always enjoyed his intensity in Haydn, I feel like exploring his Mozart more now that I've found this. Long is OK, more than OK in the variations, but it's the orchestra, and the conception (which I bet was van Beinum's)  which makes this interesting for me. 
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka



The more I listen to this concerto the more I realise that the first movement is a challenge to get off the page. The piano music has some nice tunes in it but it also has a lot of what looks like passage work -- how to make it interesting? This is compounded by the fact that in some recordings the orchestral part is rather reticent and uninspired, as if the conductors see their role as one of accompaniment.

Well just as I was thinking that along comes Piotre Andersewszki and it's just a revelation in the first movement! The orchestra is wide awake and is on fire, and Andersewski has a gift for making making the piano writing, spirited and articulate. The result makes you see why Beethoven liked this concerto so much.

I very much appreciate the absence of maudlin romanticism in the slow movement. And the boisterous playful piano playing in the variations.

Sound is better than very good, particularly well balanced between piano and orchestra.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Started to enjoy this very old one -- maybe the first recording ever, Casadesus/Eugéne Bigot

https://www.youtube.com/v/B3o3JN2EwVY&ab_channel=gullivior
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Klavier

Quote from: Mandryka on March 09, 2019, 06:40:26 AM


The more I listen to this concerto the more I realise that the first movement is a challenge to get off the page. The piano music has some nice tunes in it but it also has a lot of what looks like passage work -- how to make it interesting? This is compounded by the fact that in some recordings the orchestral part is rather reticent and uninspired, as if the conductors see their role as one of accompaniment.

Well just as I was thinking that along comes Piotre Andersewszki and it's just a revelation in the first movement! The orchestra is wide awake and is on fire, and Andersewski has a gift for making making the piano writing, spirited and articulate. The result makes you see why Beethoven liked this concerto so much.

I very much appreciate the absence of maudlin romanticism in the slow movement. And the boisterous playful piano playing in the variations.

Sound is better than very good, particularly well balanced between piano and orchestra.

I like that one, too. I also enjoy it from these two boxed sets:





(LP--sorry for the poor image)

Mandryka

Annie Fischer and Efrem Kurtz really needs to be heard - really alert music making both by piano player and (unusually I think) by the orchestra.

I've had the recording for well over 15 years, but it's only now that I'm hearing why it's so special - strange! It's here on YouTube if anyone's curious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEqUyO_Ey10
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

George

Quote from: Mandryka on September 05, 2021, 12:39:53 PMStarted to enjoy this very old one -- maybe the first recording ever, Casadesus/Eugéne Bigot

[flash=200,200]https://www.youtube.com/v/B3o3JN2EwVY&ab_channel=gullivior[/flash]

What do you think of Barenboim's first recording of this work with the ECO?
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

Mandryka

Quote from: George on September 12, 2023, 07:25:10 AMWhat do you think of Barenboim's first recording of this work with the ECO?

Noted and will report back next time I'm in the mood to hear the music.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

George

Regarding this work, a friend on another site shared this:

QuoteAs most people probably know, Beethoven heard Mozart's Concerto No. 24 and and was so moved that he lamented to a colleague seated next to him, "We'll never be able to do anything like that!"

High praise indeed!
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

Mandryka

#28


Really electric, beautifully balanced and well recorded orchestral playing from Egarr and totally boring and charmless piano playing from Levin. He's using a replica of Mozart's Salzburg piano: faceless and dull timbres, and (hence) a faceless and dull piano performance. Research has shown that the piano as we have it has been modified - the action and damping are not in the condition Mozart would have known.  I wonder if Levin and his team have just not taken this on board, and the result is an impoverished piano rendition. 

Tom Beghin has explored the implications of what we now know about Mozart's piano on his solo Mozart CD.

https://www.etcetera-records.com/album/444/works-fortepiano-wmozart

@George That thing about Beethoven commenting on a performance of this concerto is very problematic. There's no good reason to think it's true - I mean, like the gospels, it was recorded a long time after the event and recorded by people who had a vested interest. I can let you have more details if you want.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Daverz

Quote from: Mandryka on July 06, 2022, 10:19:13 AMAnnie Fischer and Efrem Kurtz really needs to be heard - really alert music making both by piano player and (unusually I think) by the orchestra.

I've had the recording for well over 15 years, but it's only now that I'm hearing why it's so special - strange! It's here on YouTube if anyone's curious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEqUyO_Ey10

It's also in the Icon box: