Search - Mozart, Kertesz, Lso :: Piano Concerti 23 & 24

Clifford Curzon was a very special Mozartean--a pianist of exceptional ability who communicated profound insights into the music and played with the utmost refinement. By temperament he was highly strung, and he tended to be nervous in front of the microphones. But his readings of four of Mozart's greatest concertos, recorded near the end of his life under ideal circumstances, must be counted among the most impressive in the catalog. For this a share of the credit must go to Istvan Kertesz and Benjamin Britten, whose sensitivity to Mozart made him an extraordinary accomplice. The playing of the London Symphony Orchestra is at a high level throughout, and the recordings sound wonderfully alive, as if they were made yesterday. --Ted Libbey