Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Mitsuko Uchida
Orchestra: Cleveland Orchestra
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: 4783539
Release: 2012
Size: 216 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 “Jeunehomme”
01. 1. Allegro
02. 2. Andantino
03. 3. Rondeau. Presto
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467
04. 1. Allegro maestoso
05. 2. Andante
06. 3. Allegro vivace assai
The definitive Mozart pianist of our time continues her Grammy Award-winning series of concerto recordings with No. 9 known as “Jeunehomme” and very popular No. 21.
The Concertos Nos. 23 and 24 release in the series was a huge critical and popular success, already selling nearly 30,000 copies and winning a Grammy award.
These extraordinary performances are the result of Mitsuko Uchida’s longstanding association with The Cleveland Orchestra. Unlike her first cycle of recordings for Philips, they feature Dame Mitsuko directing the orchestra herself, from the piano, delighting in a very special musical collaboration.
For her third album of Mozart’s piano concertos on Decca, performed live with the Cleveland Orchestra, Mitsuko Uchida conducts from the keyboard and delivers her characteristic style of playing that is both compelling and revelatory. Eschewing the surface patina of period performance, Uchida plays a modern Steinway, and the orchestra plays with a fully modern sound. Yet the issue of authentic Classical style falls by the wayside when Uchida gives the music its voice through her subtle interpretations and refined execution. Whether one prefers historic or modern methods, Uchida’s musicality transcends such technical matters, and her Mozart springs from her deeply personal interaction with the scores. This CD is part of Uchida’s second Mozart concerto cycle, revisiting music she had recorded with Jeffrey Tate and the English Chamber Orchestra in the 1980s and 1990s on Philips. While that studio set is judged by many as one of the finest available, Uchida’s fans will still be interested to have her live recordings for their spontaneity and presence. The Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, “Jeunehomme,” and the Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (nicknamed “Elvira Madigan” after the Swedish film) are among Mozart’s most popular piano concertos, so newcomers to his music would do well to give this disc a try, while connoisseurs will acquire it as a matter of course.