Gardiner: Mozart – The Piano Concertos (9 CD box set, APE)

Performer: Malcolm Bilson, Robert Levin, Melvyn Tan
Orchestra: English Baroque Soloists
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 9 CD box set
Format: APE (tracks+m3u)
Label: Archiv Produktion
Size: 2.26 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc 1:
01. Piano Concerto No.5 in D, K.175 – 1. Allegro
02. Piano Concerto No.5 in D, K.175 – 2. Andante ma un poco adagio
03. Piano Concerto No.5 in D, K.175 – 3. Allegro – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
04. Piano Concerto No.6 in B flat, K.238 – 1. Allegro aperto
05. Piano Concerto No.6 in B flat, K.238 – 2. Andante un poco adagio
06. Piano Concerto No.6 in B flat, K.238 – 3. Rondeau (Allegro) – Lead-in: Malcolm Bilson
07. Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra (No.7) in F, K.242 “Lodron” – 1. Allegro
08. Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra (No.7) in F, K.242 “Lodron” – 2. Adagio
09. Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra (No.7) in F, K.242 “Lodron” – 3. Rondeau (Tempo di menuetto)
10. Concert Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in D. K.382 – Allegretto grazioso – Adagio – Allegro

Disc 2:
01. Piano Concerto No.8 in C, K.246 “Lützow” – 1. Allegro aperto
02. Piano Concerto No.8 in C, K.246 “Lützow” – 2. Andante
03. Piano Concerto No.8 in C, K.246 “Lützow” – 3. Rondeau (Tempo di menuetto)
04. Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, K.271 – “Jeunehomme” – 1. Allegro
05. Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, K.271 – “Jeunehomme” – 2. Andantino
06. Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, K.271 – “Jeunehomme” – 3. Rondeau (Presto)
07. Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra (No.10) in E flat, K.365 – 1. Allegro
08. Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra (No.10) in E flat, K.365 – 2. Andante
09. Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra (No.10) in E flat, K.365 – 3. Rondeau (Allegro)

Disc 3:
01. Piano Concerto No.11 in F, K.413 – 1. Allegro
02. Piano Concerto No.11 in F, K.413 – 2. Larghetto
03. Piano Concerto No.11 in F, K.413 – 3. Tempo di menuetto
04. Piano Concerto No.12 in A, K.414 – 1. Allegro
05. Piano Concerto No.12 in A, K.414 – 2. Andante
06. Piano Concerto No.12 in A, K.414 – 3. Rondeau (Allegretto)
07. Piano Concerto No.13 in C, K.415 – 1. Allegro
08. Piano Concerto No.13 in C, K.415 – 2. Andante
09. Piano Concerto No.13 in C, K.415 – 3. Rondeau (Allegro)

Disc 4:
01. Piano Concerto No.14 in E flat, K.449 – 1. Allegro vivace
02. Piano Concerto No.14 in E flat, K.449 – 2. Andantino
03. Piano Concerto No.14 in E flat, K.449 – 3. Allegro ma non troppo
04. Piano Concerto No.15 in B flat, K.450 – 1. Allegro
05. Piano Concerto No.15 in B flat, K.450 – 2. (Andante)
06. Piano Concerto No.15 in B flat, K.450 – 3. Allegro
07. Piano Concerto No.18 in B flat, K.456 – 1. Allegro vivace
08. Piano Concerto No.18 in B flat, K.456 – 2. Andante un poco sostenuto
09. Piano Concerto No.18 in B flat, K.456 – 3. Allegro vivace

Disc 5:
01. Piano Concerto No.16 in D, K.451 – 1. Allegro assai
02. Piano Concerto No.16 in D, K.451 – 2. Andante
03. Piano Concerto No.16 in D, K.451 – 3. Rondeau (Allegro di molto)
04. Piano Concerto No.19 in F, K.459 – 1. Allegro
05. Piano Concerto No.19 in F, K.459 – 2. Allegretto
06. Piano Concerto No.19 in F, K.459 – 3. Allegro assai
07. Piano Concerto No.21 in C, K.467 – 1. Allegro – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
08. Piano Concerto No.21 in C, K.467 – 2. Andante
09. Piano Concerto No.21 in C, K.467 – 3. Allegro vivace assai – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson

Disc 6:
01. Piano Concerto No.17 in G, K.453 – 1. Allegro
02. Piano Concerto No.17 in G, K.453 – 2. Andante
03. Piano Concerto No.17 in G, K.453 – 3. Allegretto
04. Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466 – 1. Allegro – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
05. Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466 – 2. Romance – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
06. Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466 – 3. Rondo. Allegro assai – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
07. Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in A, K.386 – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson – Allegretto

Disc 7:
01. Piano Concerto No.22 in E flat, K.482 – 1. Allegro – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
02. Piano Concerto No.22 in E flat, K.482 – 2. Andante
03. Piano Concerto No.22 in E flat, K.482 – 3. Allegro – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
04. Piano Concerto No.23 in A, K.488 – 1. Allegro
05. Piano Concerto No.23 in A, K.488 – 2. Adagio
06. Piano Concerto No.23 in A, K.488 – 3. Allegro assai

Disc 8:
01. Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor, K.491 – 1. (Allegro) – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson & Johann Nepomuk Hummel
02. Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor, K.491 – 2. Larghetto
03. Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor, K.491 – 3. (Allegretto)
04. Piano Concerto No.25 in C, K.503 – 1. Allegro maestoso – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
05. Piano Concerto No.25 in C, K.503 – 2. Andante – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
06. Piano Concerto No.25 in C, K.503 – 3. (Allegretto) – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson

Disc 9:
01. Piano Concerto No.26 in D, K.537 “Coronation” – 1. Allegro – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
02. Piano Concerto No.26 in D, K.537 “Coronation” – 2. (Larghetto) – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
03. Piano Concerto No.26 in D, K.537 “Coronation” – 3. (Allegretto) – Cadenza: Malcolm Bilson
04. Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat, K.595 – 1. Allegro
05. Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat, K.595 – 2. Larghetto
06. Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat, K.595 – 3. Allegro – Lead-in: Malcolm Bilson

Divine Force of Mozart

Goethe said, “Mozart is the human incarnation of the divine force of creation.” Mozart’s piano concertos are, well, ah, I can’t.. um.. there is nothing else like them. If you really pay attention to the notes, the nuances, the expression of the possibility of sheer joy or near total devastation (Unlike the composers that came after him, Mozart never quite takes you all the way to total devastation, he was human, not a drama Queen, always a crack of light from the door to happiness). Bilson plays these like no one else either. Listen several times so you start to be able to anticipate what is coming, and he (Mozart) STILL surprises you with some little twist, some little wind of “divine force”, you know it’s coming and still it makes you literally cry, but always at least a hint of hope and joy. To listen to all of this and pay the attention that it keeps drawing you into takes a lot of time. If you have the time, do it, you will carry pieces of these works with you for the rest of your life. If your time is short, there are many short cuts I could propose, here is one:
The rondo for piano and orchestra in D K.382, (don’t settle for any version except the one found in this collection, the others are slower than this and miss some of the happiness of the main orchestral theme) This piece is beyond belief, what it can do to you. The upright, stilted sounding, “proper” opening into a sweet piano section, then back to the opening section, which now feels like a carnival of delight, the piano comes back and just about kills you, and then pulls you back to the opening theme of joy, but now nuanced and just nailed by the use of the piano, then the piano just takes you on some kind of journey where you feel lost, and then the piano just wraps you in its arms and you are taken to some incredible place of tearful happiness, it is amazing when that happens…. and the carnival returns and you leave the room smiling, even laughing, as you wipe the tears with the back of your wrist.
If none of this has ever happened to you, then you have been idly chatting or reading while you listened to Mozart. There are MANY pieces in this collection that take you places you have never been, or to places you have been but may have forgotten. The next time you have some vacation time, take a week off and stay home and listen to this collection, listen a few times, find some favorite places in them, write them down. Listen to those things a few more times and you will find you have taken a journey like none you have ever taken before, and you did it sitting in a chair, lying in bed, and dancing around the room, and with this collection in your possession, you can now go to those places anytime you want. It is fantastic.