Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Alfred Brendel :: Brendel Plays Mozart & Haydn

More Exquisite Mozart from Early in Brendel's Career

Johannes Climacus | Beverly, Massachusetts | 05/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Brendel has given us some distinguished Mozart recordings over the years, including concerto collaborations with Marriner/ASMF and more recently with Mackerras (the latter of which I have not heard). But a case can be made that his earliest efforts for Vox--several of which are included in this two-CD set--convey a freshness and enthusiasm that he only fitfully recaptured later in his career. Though recording and ensemble playing call for some tolerance, those prepared to listen past some poorly tuned winds and occasionally harsh treble frequencies will be treated to some exquisite pianism. Brendel is at his best in K. 595, which is appropriately elegaic but never languishes. His phrasing and articulation are effortlessly imaginative throughout this concerto. K. 503 isn't quite as majestic as it might be, but Brendel's vibrant playing (and some decent ensemble work) make up for any loss of scale. K. 482 is given a bracing, incisive reading alive to the rustic as well as the heroic qualities in the music (it's here, unfortunately that we encounter some "rustic" wind playing, too). K. 453 conveys that paradoxical mixture of charm and rapture that characterizes Mozart at his greatest, while never descending into cuteness (a real temptation for many pianists in this concerto). Brendel's Haydn D-major shares similar virtues with the Mozart; a performance that never stops sparkling from the very first measure.



I have loved these performances since my early youth. The measure of an enduringly worthwhile recording is that repeated hearings reveal new felicities, and these have never worn out their welcome over four decades of serious listening! Even though the price tag is higher than it should be for a budget label (doubtless because it is now officially "out of circulation"), fans of Brendel and Mozartians everywhere should snap this up before it becomes hard to find."