This set begins in unusually dark Mozart territory, with the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 20 (much admired by Beethoven). Though the soloist still needs a lightness of touch—especially at the outset—in order to bring across the full impact of the music’s arc. Friedrich Gulda’s playing in the first movement is delicate, early on, before turning stormier during the cadenza composed by Beethoven. (Gulda’s way with that cadenza also sets up a winning contrast with the following, often-serene slow movement.) Concerto No. 21 is, likewise, a joy; conductor Claudio Abbado and the Vienna players provide ingenious support throughout.
Featured On
- Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Eduard van Beinum
- Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Kubelik, Christoph Eschenbach & Seiji Ozawa
- Bryn Lewis, Giuseppe Sinopoli, John Anderson, Kenneth Smith, Meyrick Alexander, Michael Collins, Philharmonia Orchestra & Richard Watkins
- English Chamber Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim
- Alfred Brendel, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & James Levine
- Emil Gilels, Robert Casadesus, Dinu Lipatti & Artur Schnabel
- Berlin Philharmonic, Carlos Kleiber, Ferdinand Leitner, Herbert von Karajan, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Waldemar Kmentt, Walter Berry & Wilhelm Kempff