Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fumiko Shiraga :: Mozart: Concerto No. 18; Symphony No. 40 (Chamber Arrangements by Hummel)

An excellent addition for people begining, or developing, th

Tom Brody | Berkeley, CA | 07/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc provides one hour of music, the piano concerto being just over 32 minutes and the symphony being just over 28 minutes. The recording is perfect. The sound quality might be characterized as, "bright," as opposed to "muddy," for example.



When one buys an album, one is not always guaranteed perfect sound quality. Sometimes, recordings are imbued with muddiness and echos. For example, Pludermacher's piano versions of the Beethoven symphonies are muddy (Harmonia Mundi France). Chitose Okashio's piano version of Mahler's Symphony No.1 has too much low-register rumbling on the piano, where the result is that the sound balance is not at all like that of most piano solo recordings (Chateau label). Moreover, all of Maurizio Pollini's piano recordings are too sharp (you need to turn down the treble a bit) (Deutsche Grammophon). Furthermore, the Emerson String Quartet's recordings of the Schumann quintet and quartet have echos, as if recorded in a little studio with bare walls (Deutsche Grammophon). But the sound quality of Ms. Shiraga's recordings is perfect.



Ms.Shiraga's recordings have further advantages. I have always found the opening measures of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 to have a whining quality. You can hear the strings in unison, whining as they set forth the opening theme. However, using a piano instead avoids any quality of whininess. Another advantage is that, for a symphonic recording, the volume must be high in order to hear all the subtleties of the orchestra. However, for this chamber version, you can hear many subtleties even where the volume is low. Furthermore, the chamber version enables the listener to hear the lovely timbres of the individual flute and the individual cello. This particular feature of music is generally not an option when listening to symphonic works, unless they are concertos.



As an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley, I had a phonograph in my dorm room, and my modest record collection included the late Mozart symphonies. Since that time, I have not often listened to the Mozart symphonic pieces, perhaps because they are too "pretty" or too predictable, as compared to works by more recent composers. The Hummel transcriptions, as recorded by Ms. Fumiko Shiraga, provided me with the motivation and opportunity to revive my interest in the Mozart symphonic works. FIVE STARS.



I also recommend Gerard Schwarz's chamber orchestra versions of the Mozart symphonies on the Delos label."