Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jeffrey Tate, English Chamber Orchestra :: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 26 & 27

Staggering Clarity and Articulation

Christopher Smith | Atlanta, Georgia | 02/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Uchida's success in divining the manifold subtleties of Mozart's piano sonatas, and showing the listener how much expression was really embedded in them all, was one of the all time great achievements of twentieth century pianism. For me, this tradition continues into the more plainly evident delights of these two concertos. Critics say that 26 is the dud among the glories of concertos 20-27, but you wouldn't know it listening to Uchida's interpretation. Mozart never wrote out the piano part for 26 in its entirety, and Uchida offers a few interesting and successful variations on the "official" score. The gentle melancholy of 27 seems made for Uchida's spiritualized reading of Mozart, and the slow movement will just break your heart. Absolutely stunning. Tate does a fine job with the ECO, and although the sense of dialogue that often shines through in the interpretations of pianist/conductors such as Perahia, Barenboim and Ashkenazy seems missing, it doesn't seem as important with these two concertos as it does with some of the others. There are so many fine recordings of these concertos out there (I especially like Ashkenazy) that you have to expect perfection, and this Uchida/Tate collaboration comes as close as I can imagine to that elusive state."