Mozart Piano Concertos

Started by Mark, September 08, 2007, 03:01:39 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

amw

Quote from: George on December 20, 2014, 08:40:35 PM
On LP? Or was that ever released on CD?
I think I'm listening to home-made LP transfers (but that's not the cause of the bad sound, apart from some groove wear in the loud parts—rather a near-anechoic acoustic and some woodwinds that have not aged well) but wouldn't be surprised if they had appeared on CD at some point. Likely deleted now.

Sony Classical owns the rights and is a rapidly-crashing zeppelin, so I'm guessing they'll appear in some ultra cheap box set eventually.

ShineyMcShineShine

I've been auditioning many of these recordings and have noticed that nearly all of them demonstrate an odd audio effect which I suspect is due to the way the pianos are miked. It's hard to describe but it basically involves ambient or extraneous sound. It can range from a sense of a mike on an empty stage with the gain turned all the way up picking up faint air currents, to a rustling, fluttery noise. In Brendel's recordings with Mackerras I can also hear what I assume is Brendel's mutterings, so that provides a clue as to the mike's position. The most dramatic example I've encountered is Annerose Schmidt and the Dresdner Philharmonie Orchestra with Kurt Masur. If you use Spotify, I've included a link below. Does anyone know what causes this effect?

https://open.spotify.com/album/36GpAjZa1lDAHMw99gDtZo

George



After a long time deliberating over whether I should get this set(I already own the Anda and Perahia sets, along with a ton of individual and multiple recordings by Serkin, Casadesus, Moravec, Haskil, Annie Fischer, Solomon, Kempff, Backhaus, Richter, Rubinstein and Kraus), I decided to grab it when a reasonable copy popped up on amazon this week. Disc one is playing (PC 5, 6 and 8) right now and I am already glad I added this one to my collection. Vegh's conducting is enthusiastic and the sound quality is excellent.

Many thanks to those who shared about the virtues of this set upthread!
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

George

Quote from: George on November 20, 2021, 12:09:07 PM


After a long time deliberating over whether I should get this set(I already own the Anda and Perahia sets, along with a ton of individual and multiple recordings by Serkin, Casadesus, Moravec, Haskil, Annie Fischer, Solomon, Kempff, Backhaus, Richter, Rubinstein and Kraus), I decided to grab it when a reasonable copy popped up on amazon this week. Disc one is playing (PC 5, 6 and 8) right now and I am already glad I added this one to my collection. Vegh's conducting is enthusiastic and the sound quality is excellent.

Many thanks to those who shared about the virtues of this set upthread!

On second thought, the sound quality of the orchestra is excellent, but the piano lacks clarity, the imaging comes across as blurred. Anyone else hearing this?
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

Jo498

I have about 6 concertos from Schiff/Vegh (in single discs from the original issue or the "Mozart Almanac" around 1991) but never got the whole thing because I found the piano too "distant", don't remember lack of clarity. It just sounds "small", although it is a modern piano and a chamber orchestra. I thought that this was maybe not merely recording but artistic choice by Schiff? But the accompaniment is among the best ever.
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

George

Quote from: Jo498 on November 20, 2021, 11:32:14 PM
I have about 6 concertos from Schiff/Vegh (in single discs from the original issue or the "Mozart Almanac" around 1991) but never got the whole thing because I found the piano too "distant", don't remember lack of clarity. It just sounds "small", although it is a modern piano and a chamber orchestra. I thought that this was maybe not merely recording but artistic choice by Schiff? But the accompaniment is among the best ever.

Hi Jo,

I am listening again now and I definitely hear the piano being too distant. I think that it is because of this that the piano image comes across to me as lacking clarity. And yes, the accompaniment is superb.
"I can't live without music, because music is life." - Yvonne Lefébure

Que

The other day I tried some of Brautigam's recordings: nos. 21 - 25.

It was a bit of an underwhelming experience.... The playing was wel articulated and balanced but Brautigam zipps through these concertos like going through a phone book - none of the Mozart magic was happening to me....

JBS

Quote from: Que on November 21, 2021, 05:51:55 AM
The other day I tried some of Brautigam's recordings: nos. 21 - 25.

It was a bit of an underwhelming experience.... The playing was wel articulated and balanced but Brautigam zipps through these concertos like going through a phone book - none of the Mozart magic was happening to me....

I got the first release in that series and had a similar reaction. Boring might be the most precise term. I didn't pursue the series after that.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Que

Quote from: JBS on November 21, 2021, 05:47:28 PM
I got the first release in that series and had a similar reaction. Boring might be the most precise term. I didn't pursue the series after that.

Sofar my favourites on period instruments are Van Immerseel and Staier. I might give Bezuidenhout a try next.

Spotted Horses

Quote from: JBS on November 21, 2021, 05:47:28 PM
I got the first release in that series and had a similar reaction. Boring might be the most precise term. I didn't pursue the series after that.

I have the complete set and have listened to a few of the discs so far. "Boring" would not characterize my experience. Electrifying perhaps. Most recently the slow, PC17, and the middle movement had a huge impact on me.
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. - Duke Ellington

SonicMan46

Quote from: Que on November 21, 2021, 11:41:28 PM
Sofar my favourites on period instruments are Van Immerseel and Staier. I might give Bezuidenhout a try next.

Well, taking a cue from Que, I've been listening on Spotify to Kristian Bezuidenhout on the two CDs below of 5 of Wolfie's KB Concertos - the fortepiano sets that I now own are with Bilson and Sofronitzki (who also does some works on harpsichord) - I've not had a chance to hear Van Immerseel, Staier, or Levin - attached are a lot of reviews of the top row performers, all have both positive and negative comments for those interested.

But as I was perusing Amazon, I see that Bezuidenhout has a 9-CD box on Mozart's KB Sonatas (and other works) - for those compositions, my collection at the moment includes Brautigam and Lubimov - although maybe not for this thread, any comments on Kristian in the solo works?  Thanks.  Dave :)

     

   

JBS

Quote from: Spotted Horses on November 22, 2021, 04:59:16 AM
I have the complete set and have listened to a few of the discs so far. "Boring" would not characterize my experience. Electrifying perhaps. Most recently the slow, PC17, and the middle movement had a huge impact on me.

I suppose I should dig out the one installment I have and give it a new listen.
But I've already got Sofrinitzki and Immerseel, plus a bunch of cycles on modern piano (Perahia, Schiff, Brendel, Barenboim, Kraus, and a newly arrived Anda that I have yet to hear) so my motivation to get another cycle is a bit low.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

JBS

As long as I'm in this thread, I may as well give a shout out to Heisdieck's recordings of some of the PCs. It's a shame he didn't do a complete cycle, because what he did record is top tier.

I don't know if they are available as physical CDs in any format other than as part of the Erato set of his recordings (which is how I have them) but they should be available as downloads.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

amw

He did record five CDs (I think) of Mozart piano concertos later in his career for a Japanese label. Later presumably meaning well into his clangy era, but I haven't heard them so I don't know.

JBS

Quote from: amw on November 22, 2021, 07:06:56 PM
He did record five CDs (I think) of Mozart piano concertos later in his career for a Japanese label. Later presumably meaning well into his clangy era, but I haven't heard them so I don't know.

Those with Graf/Mozarteum Salzburg, right? Amazon lists four of them, plus a complete set of the sonatas that seems to be from the same label (plus one CD issued by Naive that may be part of the same set). They're quite pricey.

This is the only one that seems to be available, just barely (expensive, seems to have been issued in Japan) as a CD.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

amw

Quote from: JBS on November 22, 2021, 07:27:00 PM
Those with Graf/Mozarteum Salzburg, right? Amazon lists four of them, plus a complete set of the sonatas that seems to be from the same label (plus one CD issued by Naive that may be part of the same set). They're quite pricey.
Yes; recorded in the 1990s. They cover 9, 12 and 18-27 as far as I know, along with the sonatas. Again, I've never heard these, but if anyone has I'm curious to know what they think. (I also haven't heard the ones in the Erato box set.)

Que

Quote from: JBS on November 22, 2021, 06:57:43 PM
I suppose I should dig out the one installment I have and give it a new listen.
But I've already got Sofrinitzki and Immerseel, plus a bunch of cycles on modern piano (Perahia, Schiff, Brendel, Barenboim, Kraus, and a newly arrived Anda that I have yet to hear) so my motivation to get another cycle is a bit low.

I liked Anda.

Florestan



Lately I've been quite enjoying this. A powerful, even aggressive C-minor.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind. — Rossini

staxomega

#558
Quote from: Que on November 21, 2021, 05:51:55 AM
The other day I tried some of Brautigam's recordings: nos. 21 - 25.

It was a bit of an underwhelming experience.... The playing was wel articulated and balanced but Brautigam zipps through these concertos like going through a phone book - none of the Mozart magic was happening to me....

Brautigam and playing fast, name a more iconic duo  ;D

Quote from: JBS on November 22, 2021, 06:57:43 PM
I suppose I should dig out the one installment I have and give it a new listen.
But I've already got Sofrinitzki and Immerseel, plus a bunch of cycles on modern piano (Perahia, Schiff, Brendel, Barenboim, Kraus, and a newly arrived Anda that I have yet to hear) so my motivation to get another cycle is a bit low.

As us New Englanders say "you're all set" ;) The Anda is my favorite of the bigger cycles by a very wide margin. I recently got the 80s WG CDs which I prefer the sound of to the yellow/black box. After sampling most of the HIP cycles for me I tend to like this music more on modern piano with chamber orchestra, though some of the larger orchestras with intelligent orchestration (ie Fleisher/Szell) are also exceptional and I still don't have a problem with well done larger orchestras in general. IMO unless you have perfectly balanced period performances the smaller fortepianos can get lost with the orchestration. I think Sofronitzky and Immerseel balance these the best.

I was exploring more of the larger cycles and this was my impression

Old:
Anda - just perfect for me
Perahia - very close second place
Schiff - exceptional orchestration, but Decca Schiff is his usual meek, mousy, playing. We need Schiff's bold attitude from the ECM years to record these.

New(er) to me:
Gardiner/Bilson - Gardiner is a bit generic, Bilson is fine. I could have done with just this cycle for HIP but the recorded levels between piano and orchestra is off. I've tried to fix this in Audacity and you can fix the solo parts but not the piano and orchestra playing together
Brautigam - brushes past the tenderness in many places, along with Immerseel the best sounding HIP cycle
Sofronitzky - I liked her playing but found the orchestra subpar and not in a charming kind of way
Immerseel - excellent, well balanced all around

The Heidsieck on Erato/HMV is really wonderful. Some scrappy, characterful playing from Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts due Conservatoire. Like you get the impression the strings are playing from the edge of their seat, dipping and moving in unison :) And Heidsieck for the most part plays his own cadenzas (on the subject of this I think Schnabel has some of the best cadenzas I've ever heard). I haven't heard the newer recordings, someone did share them at one point but turned out to just be the older ones.

SonicMan46

Thanks hvblas for your comments - I previously showed my 2 PI sets, i.e. Bilson & Sofronitski (also have 2 on modern pianos, Anda - also my favorite - and Zacharias on MDG) - agree w/ your comments on Bilson - his piano seems to be in the background, esp. at lower volumes and wish there were a better balance; seems to improve by upping the volume.  As for Sofronitski, I do like her playing (and on a fortepiano made by her husband), but the band is not the best, now not bad but always mentioned as a minor negative in reviews.  Immerseel appears the favorite of fortepiano versions on the forum, SO found the 3 recordings below on Spotify and am listening now - his fortepiano is well in the mix - unfortunately the 10-CD box is only available at exorbitant prices (at least where I'm looking) - Dave :)