Recordings of the Complete Mozart Piano Concertos

[PaulT]

Just realised I do not have a set of all the Mozart piano concertos. I think Anda was the first but I am also aware of others by Brendel, Perahia, Uchida and Barenboim (twice). There must be others. If I was to buy just one set what would you recommend and why?

[mikealdren]

I would recommend that you don't yet. Buy individual recordings with a variety of artists and you'll get a better set and a far wider view of some of the greatest works ever written. For me, for example, I couldn't imagine not having Wilhelm Kempff's Mozart but he didn't record the complete cycle.

I have the Perahia set and it fills in gaps in my collection but they're not usually the recordings I turn to for individual works. Get to know them one or two at a time is my advice.

Mike

[Bryn]

It depends on rather a lot of factors. To start with, do you want them played on the sort of instruments they were written for, or would you prefer them as arranged for more modern forces and even-toned iron-framed Steinway, for instance? If the latter I would plump for Barenboim's more recent survey on Warner Classics. The playing is very fine and you even get the 2 and 3 piano concertos on a DVD (with Solti and Schiff as the other pianists). The performances are in many ways quite different from the old EMI set with the English Chamber Orchestra. Barenboim's approach has developed over the year.

If you are looking for a set using forces and instruments closer to those for which the concertos were written, my first choice would be the Bilson/JEG survey, but it's not cheap, and the Immerseel/Anima Eterna, I find, makes a fine alternative, though you might want to supplement it with the hybrid SACD of Ronald Brautigam, Alexei Lubimov and (in K242) Manfred Huss, who also directs the Haydn Sinfonia Wien, in the two versions of K365 (with and without clarinets, trumpets & timpani) and te already mentioned K242. That, to me, is a very special recording, with Brautigam and Lubimov having great fun while playing with outstanding virtuosity on their instruments by McNulty and Brown, respectively, (both built after models by Anton Walther). Huss plays a fortepiano by Watzek, after an original by Joseph Schantz. If it's to be one or the other, between Barenboim and Immerseel, I would spend my money on the Immerseel box. Others will, of course, have their own recommendations.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have 2 sets: Brendel's, which is generally rated, and Haebler's, which is largely forgotten. However, the latter is my 1st choice, but I don't think it's available any longer.

[rauschwerk]

I don't think Perahia's set has been surpassed and, in my view, his versions of K449,450,451,453,459,482,488 are unlikely to be bettered. However, I do have other recordings of some concerti which I prefer, either for performance or sound quality.

[Roehre]

I have 2 sets: Brendel's, which is generally rated, and Haebler's, which is largely forgotten. However, the latter is my 1st choice, but I don't think it's available any longer.

Both these sets are very enjoyable, though a bit old fashioned. But one has to keep in mind that the Haebler set is IIRC the first one which uses much smaller forces than e.g. Kempff and even Anda (another higly rated set btw) do, with a lighter touch as well. For a HIP-set I'd go for Immerseel/Anima Eterna.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Again not a complete cycle, but Howard Shelley with the London Mozart Players on Chandos has given me a lot of pleasure in K271, 453, 467 and 482. There are at least a couple more Chandos discs, plus an older Carlton disc of two of the more popular ones (possibly with another orch) if you can track it down.

I endorse mikealdren's view that there's much to be said for going for different pianists. Buy a cycle when you've worked out who does it best for you. I 've been slowly picking up a the main works, say K271 onwards, for the last 35 years appx and only recently bought the EMI Barenboim cycle complete on CD (I bought several of them on LP right at the start of my LP collection). That mopped up the pre K271 solo concertos though the completist in me shouts that I still haven't got a K242

Though what there is of the musician in me isn't quite so bothered

There are lots of Philips twofers that will sample Brendel and Uchida very cheaply. Don't be afraid of duplicating at least a few concertos: you'll learn a lot!

I was just eyeing the an APR set with all of Edwin Fischer's Mozart concerto recordings plus some solo recordings: oooh, I'm sure there's a lot of pleasure to be had there, even though I have at least a couple of them. How long are your shelves?

[Nick Armstrong]

I don't think Perahia's set has been surpassed and, in my view, his versions of K449,450,451,453,459,482,488 are unlikely to be bettered. However, I do have other recordings of some concerti which I prefer, either for performance or sound quality.

I agree - there's a delight to much of that set that ... sets it apart. 271 and 467 aren't bad either, my first exposure to Mozart PCs. But Brendel/Marriner produced some gems (482 my favourite)

Most recently, i fell under the spell of Christian Zacharias's developing set from Lausanne. It's a little uneven, but at its best is great. Try the disc featuring K488 and two early concertos! http://www.christianzacharias.com/discography.asp I see they've brought out a sixth volume which I haven't got yet...

[MickyD]

I've never heard the Immerseel set, but for an HIP, I think it's a shame that the Robert Levin/Christopher Hogwood cycle fell prey to the Decca axe...they weren't far off completing it. Levin's improvisatary cadenzas are interesting and sometimes fun, though perhaps are not for repeated listening.

[Dave2002]

Bryn and Roehre seem to have brought us up to date with details of some of the newer HIP sets, which I'm sure are very well worth checking out. I always liked Haebler, though wasn't sure that she recorded every concerto. A few years ago I missed a chance to get most of her concerto recordings, and later I found a Mozart set, but that turns out to only of piano solo (or occasionally duet - i.e not with orchestra) recordings, and is perhaps not available in the UK anyway. It's worth looking out for things like that on foreign trips, as the catalogues and availability are quite likely to be different.

I have a few sets - Barenboim and Perahia, [must check if I've also got Uchida's complete set - I do have her piano sonatas] and the large Mozart set from Brilliant which includes the piano concertos, but I have to say I don't listen to any of them much. For individual concertos Stephen Bishop Kovacevich is very good on most from 20 onwards, and Richard Goode is also excellent in some. I don't know how far his coverage of the complete cycle goes. I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've heard from these two pianists. Brendel (Philips) is OK, but delightful in some of the earlier concertos - merely "good" later on. Having said that, I did once have an LP with Brendel in 27, which was really fun to listen to - but it wasn't the Philips recording - probably originated from Vox. I think he also redid some of the concertos fairly recently before he officially retired - so could be worth checking those.

Horowitz is also very good - e.g in 23. There were quite well known LPs with Rudolf Serkin and George Szell conducting - usually containing 20 in D minor. That was good, though a bit gritty - partly the recording.

One pianist I'd be wary of is Michelangeli. It is rumoured that he produced some very good recordings, but some which he made in the 1980s are dire - probably those with Gerben conducting. I can well believe that the earlier ones (usually in the 1950s-60s - some with Giulini) are very good, though recording quality doesn't match the performances.

I found this page - http://a-benedetti-michelangeli-moza...784.cooga.net/ which reminds us of many of the pianists who have played and recorded these works. I have heard Schnabel playing some Mozart - very good, though you've usually got to be tolerant of the sound quality. Annie Fisher and Clara Haskil are also worth checking out.

I suspect that buying a boxed set, though useful for completeness, will lead to something which will largely fill a space on your shelf and mostly gather dust, and that might even apply to Haebler, whose recordings I'd recommend if they can be found.

If you can get onto a streaming site, such as Spotify, you might find that you can access many of the great pianists from the past, as well as some still playing today, and make your own decision which recordings to buy.

[Dave2002]

PS: Try typing "Mozart piano concerto" into Spotify, and you'll get more recordings of Mozart concerti than you'll probably want to listen to in a year, or even a lifetime. You can also add in the name of a pianist as a qualifier - e.g Haebler, but unfortunately not all of her recordings are there - for example her recording of 19 with Colin Davis and the LSO. On the other hand, Haskil with Fricsay and the Berlin Phil is there - surely must be worth a listen.

If you've not tried Spotify do - I recommend it highly.

[Dave2002]

PPS: Try these Spotify links -

http://open.spotify.com/user/dave2010uk/playlist/2jetNmMV6G75uafRNXFvJK

spotify:user:dave2010uk:playlist:2jetNmMV6G75uafRN XFvJK

[More than 1000 tracks in this one ...!]

http://open.spotify.com/user/dave2010uk/playlist/7q89zA0SXLclZuonCO1hGM

spotify:user:dave2010uk:playlist:7q89zA0SXLclZuonC O1hGM

[manageable list, but sadly short]

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The Haebler set was part of the Philips Mozart Edition on LP, but it did make an appearance in a CD box for a short time. I wish I'd bought it now, though I still cherish the vinyl version. I keep scouring the web in hope.

[rauschwerk]

Non-Perahia recordings in my collection whcih I treasure include: Goode in K271 & 466 (the latter is quite magnificent); Kovacevich/Davis in K467 (what an exhilarating finale!); Kathleen Long/Concertgebouw/van Beinum in K491; Goode and Kovacevich in K503 (Perahia sounds as if he were recorded in a swimming bath in this one). In K595 I have Haskil, Goode, Curzon/Britten and Gilels and would not be without any of them, though Curzon and Gilels are too slow in the slow movement.

Solomon (Testament), an artist I greatly admire, rather understates K450 & 488 (why did he make recordings with that boring conductor Herbert Menges?). He treats K491 as proto-Beethoven, complete with thunderous Saint-Saens cadenzas. This disc is disappointing.

[mathias broucek]

He didn't make a complete set, but Curzon made some outstanding recordings of the late concertos. I particularly like the ones with Szell (VPO) and Britten (ECO). However the ones with Kertesz (LSO) and Kubelik (BavRSO) are well worth hearing - the latter are extremely cheap if you have an emusic account.