Barenboim: Mozart – The Piano Concertos (9 CD, APE + DVD)

Performer: Daniel Barenboim
Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Daniel Barenboim
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 9 CD
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Warner Classics
Size: 2.08 GB + DVD
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K. 175 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K. 175 2. Andante ma un poco adagio
# Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K. 175 3. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, K. 238 1. Allegro aperto
# Piano Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, K. 238 2. Andante un poco adagio
# Piano Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, K. 238 3. Rondeau: Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major (“Lützow”) K. 246 1. Allegro aperto
# Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major (“Lützow”) K. 246 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major (“Lützow”) K. 246 3. Rondeau: Tempo di menuetto
# Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major (“Jeunehomme,” “Jenamy”), K. 271 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major (“Jeunehomme,” “Jenamy”), K. 271 2. Andantino
# Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major (“Jeunehomme,” “Jenamy”), K. 271 3. Rondeau: Presto
# Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453 3. Allegretto – Finale: Presto
# Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414 (K. 385p) 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414 (K. 385p) 2. Andante (Theme by J. C. Bach)
# Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414 (K. 385p) 3. Allegretto
# Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413 (K. 387a) 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413 (K. 387a) 2. Larghetto
# Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413 (K. 387a) 3. Tempo di minuetto
# Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 415 (K. 387b) 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 415 (K. 387b) 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 415 (K. 387b) 3. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat major, K. 449 1. Allegro vivace
# Piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat major, K. 449 2. Andantino
# Piano Concerto No. 14 in E flat major, K. 449 3. Allegro ma non troppo
# Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major, K. 450 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major, K. 450 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major, K. 450 3. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 16 in D major, K. 451 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 16 in D major, K. 451 2. [Andante]
# Piano Concerto No. 16 in D major, K. 451 3. Allegro di molto
# Rondo for piano & orchestra in D major, K. 382 Allegretto grazioso
# Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat major, K. 456 1. Allegro vivace
# Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat major, K. 456 2. Andante un poco sostenuto
# Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat major, K. 456 3. Allegro vivace
# Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459 1. Allegro vivace
# Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459 2. Allegretto
# Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459 3. Allegro assai
# Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 2. Romance
# Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 3. Allegro assai
# Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (“Elvira Madigan”) K. 467 1. [Allegro maestoso]
# Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (“Elvira Madigan”) K. 467 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (“Elvira Madigan”) K. 467 3. Allegro vivace assai
# Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major, K. 482 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major, K. 482 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major, K. 482 3. Allegro – Andante cantabile – Tempo primo
# Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 2. Adagio
# Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 3. Allegro assai
# Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 2. Larghetto
# Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 3. Allegretto
# Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503 1. Allegro maestoso
# Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503 2. Andante
# Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503 3. Allegretto
# Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major (“Coronation”) K. 537 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major (“Coronation”) K. 537 2. [Larghetto]
# Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major (“Coronation”) K. 537 3. [Allegretto]
# Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 1. Allegro
# Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 2. Larghetto
# Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 3. Allegro

Masterful, Magisterial.

The level of playing here is consistantly first class. Barenboim easily has the technique to fly through even the most difficult passages. Since we are talking about 2 dozen concerti, this is a pretty amazing achievement. The Berlin Philharmoniker is one of the World’s leading orchestras, especially in this repertoire. Overall this has to be taken as one of the pinnacle of Mozart piano concerto cycles available. There is lots of competition too! Ashkenazy, Perahia, Uchida and Schiff to name a few.

In any undertaking this large there are bound to be varying results. This is true of this cycle but I could not find anything that was bothersome or below excellent. Some tempo choices were slightly off the usual but in no way did any of these events bring detriment to the results. For example, #26 started a bit fast compared to other versions I’ve heard but this was easy to adjust to after a moment or two. Some of Barenboim’s cadenzas were very playful, quoting themes from Mozart’s famous operas. All of this relects Barenboim’s confidence in himself and mastery of the music, which is evident throughout the entire series.

The early Vienna concerti, 14 through 16 where already critically aclaimed and one finds similar brilliance in many other concerti as well. I feel that Barenboim has contributed something new to these works while still maintaining a healthy respect for the tradition this music holds. In other words, the playing is alive and intelligent while remaining true to the Mozartian idiom and style. Considering the bargain price, high level of recording technology, great orchestra and Barenboim’s lively playing, I give this a very strong recommendation. For someone unfamiliar with these works, I would suggest buying single CDs of several different players before jumping into an entire set. That way you can get an idea of whose playing pleases you the most before committing to a complete set.