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Nabaza.net-The MarketPlace - Mozart: Piano Concertos #9 & 18 - Leif Ove Andsnes
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List Price: $16.98
Our Price: $10.97
Your Save: $ 6.01 ( 35% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0724355780324
Label: EMI Classics
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: EMI Classics
Release Date: 2004-11-02
Studio: EMI Classics
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Editorial Reviews:
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This record is a total delight: two irresistible Mozart concertos, one famous, one unfamiliar, played with the technical, musical and stylistic perfection that performers never cease to strive for but very rarely achieve. No. 9, written in 1777, was the first of Mozart's large-scale, truly "great" concertos. Innovative in form, it opens not with the usual orchestral exposition, but a brief interchange between soloist and orchestra that sets the stage for its conversational character. In the C minor slow movement, the piano sings a heart-breaking lament of an aria while the orchestra comments with often wrenchingly dissonant sighs. The sprightly, exuberant Finale harbors another surprise. Its middle section is a Minuet of beguiling beauty and wistful grace. No. 18, written in 1784, is basically conventional, but also full of surprises, notably in its daring modulations to distant tonalities. The slow movement in G minor is another mournful operatic aria, while the Finale is a set of increasingly ornate variations. Andsnes' playing is quite extraordinary. He follows Mozart through all his swiftly changing moods and emotions, bringing out the music's stately nobility, gracious courtliness, ironic humor, drama and tragedy without a trace of artificiality or exaggeration. He uses Mozart's own wonderfully inventive, sparkling cadenzas, which adds to the feeling of authenticity. The piano tone is light, crisp and clear, but so variable in touch, articulation and nuance that it never sounds dry. The transitions and changes of tempo and character are poised and natural, the rhythms buoyant and supple. The phrasing is impeccable and has the spontaneous flow of human speech. The orchestra plays with sparing vibrato but lots of color and expression; its tone blends with the piano's admirably, cushioning and vitalizing the solo part. One can easily imagine Mozart sitting at the keyboard in close rapport with the musicians, basking in the audiences' enjoyment and smiling with pure pleasure. --Edith Eisler
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Andsnes Proves Again Why He's A Modern Master Pianist
Comment: Another recording of Mozart Piano Concertos? This is what I was thinking as I was getting ready to listen to this Leif Ove Andsnes CD which I was able to borrow from my library to "audition".
I've really enjoyed his performances in the past and have many of his wonderful recordings, but still I was wondering if it would be something worthwhile with so many other wonderful recordings of the Mozart Concertos that were already out there.
It was VERY worthwhile!
What I love about this recording is that it has the intimacy that you find on many "period" instrument recordings. At the same time Leif Ove utilizes the beauty of the modern instrument and making no apologies for it's particular expressive qualities and dynamic range. Leif Ove really does some remarkable magic with dynamics on this, for example, trills that fade into the ether.
I thoroughly enjoy and have many period instrument recordings, but I must admit that overall, as a pianist and piano teacher myself (though admittedly no where near at the level of Andsnes) I tend to still favor the modern instrument.
Though Period instrument purists will certainly disagree with me, in my opinion, many early pianos sound like an "instrument still in it's infancy" though with charm no doubt, whereas string instruments were already much more along in terms of their development at the time of Mozart and beyond. Who really knows, given the choice, what Mozart would have thought about our modern instrument. Clearly Beethoven was always pushing the limits of his piano and from all I know, embraced innovations that came in his lifetime.
Getting back to the recording at hand :)
Andsnes plays these concertos with emotion and beautiful dynamics and ornamentation. The orchestra and he really interact as one and it's as if there is an intimate conversation going on that we are able to listen to.
I can see why he felt compelled to record these concertos because obviously he had his own musical message to add to the many recordings out there and I for one look forward to hearing him do more Mozart Concertos.
One last thing I wanted to say about Andsnes. He is a pianist with amazing technique but one who I never think of as a technical pianist as his technique is always in service of his musical message.
Highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Leif Ove Andsnes: A Musician's AND an Audience's Musician!
Comment: Though Leif Ove Andsnes has been on concert stages for some time now, he is finally reaching that estimable stature of one the now and future greats. This eloquent CD of two superb Mozart concerti (Nos. 9 and 18) will certainly contribute to his place in the ranks of fine pianists. Not only does he play with a refined sense of architecture and with utmost clarity, he is not afraid to let the singing, aria-like movements show his heart.
One other factor that makes this recital so worth owning is Andsnes' conducting the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra from the keyboard. The result is a marriage of thought and performance that makes these readings among the best available. The orchestra is utterly responsive to his interpretation and though the group is not a 'period orchestra', the sound Andsnes coaxes from them must be very close to the sound Mozart heard as he conducted them in 1777 and 1784 - less vibrato, playing a 'straight line' sound that simulates period instruments without sacrificing the warmth of modern orchestral timber. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05
Customer Rating:
Summary: Reminds me of Westworld...
Comment: Remember that old sci-fi robot movie with Yul Brynner? One of those robots apparently learned to play Mozart. I can just see Leif sitting at the piano in a big white cowboy hat, performing these works. What I can't see is Edith Eisler's review that says he plays with swiftly changing moods, bringing out the music's stately nobility, gracious courtliness, grandness, ironic humor, drama and tragedy. (She must get paid by the adjective.) Rather, I agree with one reviewer below (who, I might add, *likes* this disc), who writes, "As it stands ... it makes the perfect background music for a Sunday brunch." And how. Pass the scones.
I don't want my Mozart to be highfallutin' restaurant music. I want it to be something the soloist and the conductor and the orchestra use to express their individual views through. Mozart was the 18th century's most radical composer, though it's sometimes hard to appreciate that today. The first concerto, in E-flat, the "Jeunehomme," was his break-out piece, the work that gave him his voice, in a way his "Erioca," which interestingly is in the same key. And here it doesn't *sound* it. It does indeed sound like prettified brunch music. I don't mean the piece should be approached in the same way Beethoven's grand symphony was, with slashing sforzandoes and abrupt fortissimos--of course that's not Mozart. But this work was equally revolutionary in its own way and for its own time. How revolutionary? Just listen to any piano concert, Mozart or otherwise, before then. Heck, there are some elements in the work (the role of the piano vs. the orchestra, for example) that weren't dealt with further until Beethoven wrote his famous G Major concerto some thirty years later. I want the performance to not sound hum-drum and routine, the same way a performance of the Eroica should never sound hum-drum and routine. The orchestra's playing here is anemic. I know they're trying to be PC and "period," but the more I hear this, and the more I hear what it's doing to ensemble playing, the more I've becoming against it, having coming full circle, from disliking it to finding merits to now disliking it again. There's nothing wrong with smaller forces, clearer textures, brisker tempi and less vibrato. There *is* something wrong with using this as an excuse for flaccid, unspirited performances that don't commit to saying anything. (You want to hear some exciting period playing, fasten your seatbelt and hear Franz Bruggen's Haydn.) I don't actually have many other recordings of the Jeunehomme, but among those I've sampled, I've always found Brendel/Marriner to be superb.
The same is true with this performance of No. 18 (a "rarely-heard" concerto?? C'mon people!), which fares somewhat better here. "Correct" or not (and we can never really know when it comes to issues of phrasing and line, and even other elements of period performance are open to a lot of interpretation), there is no give-and-take in these performances, and sorry, Edith, but I'd give another eleven bucks, which is what I paid for this disc, to hear all the color, fire, drama and ironic humor that you do. Heck, I'd love to hear a little *phrasing* and shaded dynamics. Instead I hear a musician that, if I were blindfolded, I couldn't tell from a generic conservatory pianist anywhere. In a universe filled with great and diverse Mozart players in recordings from the last 70 years, Andsnes doesn't rate a blip. He even makes Murray Perahia's conducted-from-the-keyboard recordings of 20 years ago sound chock full of intelligence by comparison. Andsnes could still evolve into something, but first he'd have to develop a personality, and think a little about the music he's playing. Until then, his only competition is Yul Brynner.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Please disregard the review titled "Mozart stripped of soul"
Comment: Yes, I understand that it is not advised that references to other reviews are made, but I feel I must. The reviewer who wrote that review also gave the SAME EXACT REVIEW WORD FOR WORD on more than 5 other Leif Ove Andsnes. This is spam and I personally hate it when this happens because the artists don't recieve a fair rating.
Anyways, for my review, I must say that Andsnes is definately on his path to stardom, and he truly deserves it. His tone is very rich and smooth while his technique is great. For a good interpetations of the 9th concerto and the lesser known 18th this is definately a great disc to have.
Customer Rating:
Summary: As good as it gets
Comment: I don't know what to praise here first, so I'll begin with the music. #9 is, of course, one of Mozart's best-known concertos, but #18 is rarely played in the concert hall. I cannot understand why, as it is every bit as great as the concertos that surround it, with an eloquent slow movement and wonderfully rollicking finale. I'm not familiar with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, but they are clearly one of the worl's finest ensembles, playing with extraordinary precision and zest. The recorded sound is exemplary, the balance between piano and orchestra perfect. As for Andsnes, his playing is wonderfully alert at every moment, full of brio in the lively moments and lyricism where called for (particularly in the slow movement of 18, played, to very good effect, somewhat faster than usual. I compared this recording of 18 to Perahia's with the ECO and found that Perahia played splendidly as ever, but he's much too closely recorded and the English Chamber Orchestra sounds diffuse and, frankly, clumsy. In every way, this release strikes me as exemplary. Anyone who purchases this disc is guaranteed an hour of pure pleasure.
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