Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fumiko Shiraga :: Mozart: Concertos Nos. 10 & 24 in Chamber Arrangements by Hummel

No. 10 is much more effective than no. 24

D. Jack Elliot | Omaha, Nebraska | 10/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hummel's chamber arrangement of the Mozart Piano Concerto no. 10 is more effective than that of the Concerto no. 24. The tenth is one of the lighter, earlier works, and it retains essentially all of its effectiveness as performed by piano, flute, violin, and cello. In fact, as the original concerto was for two pianos, there is an element of pianistic virtuosity in the chamber arrangement that is not present in the original, as Shiraga must account for two pianos' worth of music. In short, this transcription is an excellent piece of chamber music.



But the transcription of no. 24, the well-known C minor concerto, simply cannot retain enough of the subtle, sophisticated, perfectly balanced orchestral counterpoint that makes the original the sublime masterwork that it is. Four instruments just aren't enough to do it, and since the Mozart original is so familiar you'll find yourself missing what isn't here. This isn't to say that this transcription utterly fails: the gorgeous melodies are well-served, Mozart's virtuosic treatment of the sonata form is of course still evidenced, and the performers offer an able reading. If you love Mozart's piano concerti (and who doesn't?), you'll be interested to hear these treatments of them by Johann Nepomuk Hummel, his best pupil... but again, so much of the C minor is missing here that listening to this disc will leave you wanting to listen to the orignal, to hear everything that's lost in this transcription of it."