Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Andras Ligeti, Hungaricus Concertus :: Mozart: Piano Concerti 13 & 20

Incredible for the Money

James Schoonmaker | Centreville, Virginia USA | 07/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 is not his best. Certainly Nos. 21 and 23 are more famous. However, in his Concerto No. 20 you see one of the only piano concertos he wrote in a minor key (24 being the other), and it shows a side of Mozart rarely seen. In fact, very few of his many compositions were written in a minor key, a fact that gives this concerto significance aside from its beauty. Granted, the solo pianist playing the 20th needs to have a forceful personality. Jando plays energetically, but there are other recordings where this comes through even clearer. I'm not entirely sure that the tuning of the piano hurts the performance, however; the 20th is more emotional than just about any Mozart composition, and serves as a prelude to the Romantic period. In this sense, I believe that the richness of the piano is justified, although it is certainly an uncommon interpretation of a piece written firmly during the Classical period. The Piano Concerto No. 13 is gorgeous as well, and perhaps suits Jando better. For anyone who wants a complete Mozart collection, this piece is well worth getting; however, it lacks the brilliant complexities or memorable melodies that his more famous later concertos contain. Even in the liner notes this concerto is given barely half the attention given to the 20th. As a side note, the liner notes are fairly good, and give a good discussion of what happens musically in both concertos.
Well worth the money. Worth more, in fact; buy it for Concerto No. 20 alone. You won't be sorry."

Simply Great

Peter Prainito | Lombard, IL USA | 06/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Naxos coupling of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 13 and 20 is a a real sleeper. I own several fine recordings of both concertos and have found this CD fast becoming my personal favorite. Pianist Jeno Jando may not be a household name, but he is outstanding. He plays with a lot of emotion and does the greatest service to Mozart's music. The Concentus Hungarius supply him lovely support. Besides the wonderful performance and sound, this Naxos CD is a steal at such a bargain price. What further makes this CD so fine is the contrast offered in both concertos. Here, in No.13, you have one of Mozart's finest earlier concertos coupled with one of his finest later concertos in No.20, only one of two that Mozart wrote in a minor key. Jando also plays the cadenzas that Beethoven (a champion of this concerto) wrote for the first and last movements. Finally, for those people who saw the movie "Amadeus", the Concerto No.20's gorgeous Romance movement was used as the final credits were rolled. Prior to writing this review I just ordered the Naxos Mozart/Jando recording of concertos No. 23 & No. 24, both masterpieces. I highly recommend this CD."

Promise of good things to come

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 12/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded in May 1989, this first volume of Jenö Jandó?s set of complete Mozart Piano Concertos, though by no means perfect, contains promise of the good things to come in this series. Jenö Jandó himself is an able pianist who takes meticulous care over his performances, and listening to him here is, as usual, a first-rate pleasure; I felt that he particularly came into his own with the bouncy, ebullient Concerto No. 13, which seems to reflect the energetic, cheeky personality of young Mozart. Concerto No. 20, the first of Mozart?s concertos in a minor key, is much more serious; musically, it points forward to a later period, and there is no apparent break in style when Jandó plays Beethoven?s cadenzas (although I am sure Jandó would have been perfectly able to improvise his own, as more historically-minded interpreters have done). Naxos chose a smallish chamber orchestra for this series: the liner notes inform me that the Concentus Hungaricus has 16 members, but whether this number was exceeded on this recording is unfortunately not given away; perhaps it is one of Naxos? idiosyncracies that they never tell you the exact distribution nor anything about the instruments played. However, the sound of the orchestra is good, definitely a class above some of the Slovakian ensembles that Naxos used to employ so much. Conductor András Ligeti is able to inspire a performance which, while not breathtaking, conveys a sense of Mozart?s genius and remains entertaining throughout.



The sound engineering is satisfactory without being brilliant, sometimes I had the impression that the balance between orchestra and soloist was not quite right, with the soloist seeming to take up the whole front of the stage and almost super-imposing his enormous piano on the ensemble, which seems to take a step backwards every time Jandó touches the piano. Nonetheless, this is a good performance and deserves four stars.

"