..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page      The Desert Island      Copyright Notice
 Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concertos for Two & Three Pianos

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Sony Classical
Released: 1991.07.14
Time:
 62:08
Category: Classics
Producer(s): Andrew Kazdin
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address:
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra in E flat major ("Concerto No. 10"), K. 365 (K. 316a)
[1] I. Allegro - 9:40
[2] II. Andante - 7:09
[3] III. Rondeaux: Allegro - 6:38

Concerto for 3 (or 2) pianos & orchestra in F major ("Lodron," "Concerto No. 7"), K. 242
[4] I. Allegro - 8:11
[5] II. Adagio - 7:11
[6] III. Rondo: Tempo di Menuetto - 5:20

Fantasia for mechanical organ in F minor, K. 608
[7] I. Allegro ritenuto - 3:10
[8] II. Andante - 4:22
[9] III. Allegro ritenuto - 2:36

Variations on an original theme for piano, 4 hands in G major, K. 501
[10] Andante - 1:12
[11] Variation I - 1:05
[12] Variation II - 1:03
[13] Variation III - 1:00
[14] Variation IV - 1:23
[15] Variation V - 2:03

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Murray Perahia - Piano, Restoration
Radu Lupu - Piano, Restoration

English Chamber Orchestra - Orchestra

Andrew Kazdin - Engineer, Producer
Buddy Graham - Engineer
Francis Pierce - Engineer
Mike Ross-Trevor - Engineer
B. Kruck - Cover Design
C.C. Garbers - Cover Design
Nigel Luckhurst - Cover Photo
Tanja Niemann - Photography
Ulrich Tank - Liner Notes
Deborah Hochgesang - Liner Note Translation
Felix Schoen - Liner Note Translation
Gaetano Simeone - Liner Note Translation

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1991 CD Sony Classical SK 44915

Recorded at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Snape, England, June 23 & 24, 1988 (K. 242/365); Abbey Road Studio 1, London, June 27&30, 1990 (K. 501/608)



Originally released in 1991, this recording has been through several reissues that have tweaked both the sound and the contents. It's hard to blame Sony for recycling it, for the album was a winner from the start; it has been supplanted by historical-instrument recordings but remains state-of-the-art for performances using modern instruments. Combining tracks recorded in 1988 and 1990, this was originally the tail end of Murray Perahia's justly celebrated cycle of Mozart concertos. The central attraction is the Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in E flat major, K. 365, where Perahia, Radu Lupu, and the English Chamber Orchestra, all without benefit of a conductor, deliver a performance that's spacious, imposing, detailed, and spontaneous, all at the same time. All the musicians seem to operate as a single unit, with the drama provided by the orchestra in the opening material of the first movement answered by supple dual explorations from the two pianists. The program is filled out with rather unusual works, which has also added to the album's appeal down through the years. The Concerto for three pianos and orchestra in F major, K. 242, is presented in Mozart's own two-piano arrangement, which attests to the composer's fondness for this lightweight little piece. The Fantasia in F minor, K. 608, originally for an instrument known as a mechanical clock, mechanical organ, or flute-clock (it is a small machine with a clock on the front, above which miniature organ pipes would be automatically activated by the mechanism, an "authentic" performance would also include moving pastoral scenes on one panel, some of which could apparently get somewhat erotic). Mozart transcribed the work for two pianos, and Ferruccio Busoni later expanded this transcription in much the same way as he did the works of Bach, adding chromatic complications and late Romantic phrasing and pedal use. Perahia and Lupu take this yet another step, restoring material from the original that Busoni omitted. Finally is the rarely played Andante and Variations for four hands in G major, K. 501, which cleanses the palate after the sweet flavors of the Busoni. At a true budget price level, this may be the reissue of choice; at least one other version of the disc includes music by Brahms that breaks the carefully constructed mood of the program.

James Manheim - All Music Guide



Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia should have recorded all of Mozart's piano music for four hands, which includes several neglected masterpieces. This disc reflects their ideal partnership, two artists of great sensitivity collaborating in performances that feature constant interplay of parts, alertness to each other's work, and superb playing as individuals. The Concerto for Two Pianos ripples along without a care in the world, just as it should, and the English Chamber Orchestra doesn't seem to care that nobody is conducting it. The pieces without orchestra are a bit less significant (as is the Concerto for Three Pianos), but the playing is so beautiful you won't care.

Leslie Gerber - Amazon.com
 

 L y r i c s


Currently no Lyrics available!

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!