Search - Mozart, Buchbinder, Wiener Simphoniker :: Piano Concertos

Preferred performances in this genre

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 06/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Buchbinder's Mozart piano concertos, when released inidividually on the Calig label, got hardly any of the good or bad press this set has received. Only Third Ear Classical Music, among the major publications that comprehensively review classical recordings, even ranked this set, saying it was one of the better ones.



I owned many of these recordings on the Calig label and was consistently astonished by the lack of publicity they received. Several traits differentiate these recordings from the complete or near complete sets by other major pianists. They are:



1. Buchbinder's pianism, which is dyanmic yet moderate, and is consistently truthful sounding. This set eschews the overthinking and overdramatic approach that marred Buchbinder's recording of the Brahms concertos some years back. At the same time, he produces a consistently pleasing tone across the set, whether he is working from the earliest concerto (No. 5) or the newer recording of the most mature concertos, Nos. 26 and 27.



2. Electricity. Most of these recordings were made during concerts in the Vienna Konzerthaus and, therefore, have the adrenaline and immediacy of concert -- some call it "live" -- musicmaking. Buchbinder, who can overthink scores and pound the keyboard mercilessly in the studio, is consistently involved with the music in a partucularly Mozartean way even when, such as in the "Elvira Madigan" Concerto No. 21, he uses his own cadenzas.



3. There is a remarkably natural sound to these recordings that gives them a pleasant overall bloom very much like you would hear from the third row of a concert hall. The exquisite miking of these recordings produces a highly Viennese sound.



4. Masculinity. Perhaps most remarkably, Buchbinder -- who conducts all the concertos from the keyboard -- is able to produce a wondrous tone while maintaining Mozartean style and producing some of the most masculine versions of these concertos I've ever heard.



He does this, in part, by using the timpani in ways most conductors do not and ensuring you can hear the timpani. I think this ability to generate masculine drama while simultanesouly holding back the reins of the orchestra and playing akin to Mozart is the most endearing trait of the set.



In addition, there is a complete lack of glibness or superficiality in these recordings. I had heard all the great pianists perform these concertos and was never much of a fan of any of them until I heard this set. If these are the qualities you seek in Mozart performance, you will enjoy this set."

Mozart Piano Concertos Played by a Master

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It has been my pleasure the last couple of weeks to immerse myself in the glorious piano concertos of Mozart, played and recorded live by the eminent Viennese pianist Rudolf Buchbinder leading the Vienna Symphony from the keyboard. I honestly think that if I had to limit myself to one genre of music by Mozart (for that famous desert isle we always talk about) I would choose the piano concertos, although to be honest I would probably try to sneak the da Ponte operas into the mix. Still, it is the concertos that I reach for most often. They can be exciting, soothing, dramatic, celebratory, even romantic beyond almost anything else Mozart wrote, and they are unfailingly interesting musically. I was delighted, then, to come upon these reissues of Buchbinder's complete traversal. They were initially recorded live in seven concerts and issued on the Calig label in, I believe, 1998. (And to be honest, this isn't a complete traversal. The series contains 21 concerti beginning with K. 175, the one usually designated No. 5, and does not include the two- and three-piano concerti.)



There are, of course, other complete, or nearly complete, sets including those of Murray Perahia, Alfred Brendel, Geza Anda, Mitsuko Uchida and Vladimir Ashkenazy. I've not heard them all but of the ones I know this set has the warmest most lifelike sound. There are single recordings of individual concerti that I would not want to be without (No. 27, K. 595 with Curzon/Britten; No. 20, K. 466 with Artur Rubinstein; No. 12, K. 414 by Perahia as well as some by Annie Fischer, Artur Schnabel, Emil Gilels, Lili Kraus, Maria João Pires, Robert Levin and Malcom Bilson) but there is something to be said for a single pianist/conductor giving us the entire oeuvre from his perspective. He seems able to communicate both the early, simpler concerti as well as the dramatic later ones (like K. 466 and K. 491). And when it comes to those painfully beautiful Andantes (e.g., the middle movement of the A Major Concerto, No. 23, K. 488 [Mozart's only work in F sharp minor, and one of the loveliest 'songs' I know]) he is on a par with absolutely the best Mozart players I've ever heard. There are a few peculiarities, but nothing to get exercised about. For instance, Buchbinder starts his trills on the main note, not on the one above it; most experts tells us that in Mozart's day this was not done. Buchbinder supplies occasional decorated cadences, charmingly I feel, but some might object. He clearly knows and loves some concertos above others. For instance, in K. 413 he seems a little careful, but in the succeeding K. 414 he lets rip, and all to the better. (The Vienna Symphony is an equal partner as evidenced in that concerto; that catchy little unison viola fillip at phrase ends of the second theme is given its graceful due.) One could argue that Buchbinder is a little understated, but he certainly gives concluding rondos plenty of fire and fun, as in the cheerful (but contrapuntally fascinating) finale of No. 19, K. 459.



It has been my delight to hear many fine Mozart concerto performances in my long concert-going life (including those of Lillian Kallir, whose recent death saddened all Mozarteans) but my main source for this music has been recordings (as well as my own halting attempts at the keyboard). I am thrilled to add this 9-CD box to my collection of recordings of this radiantly beautiful music.



[There is, listed here at Amazon, a more expensive set of precisely the same performances by Buchbinder. This is the one to get.]



Strongly recommended.



9 CDs, TT=580mins



Scott Morrison

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RATED 5 STARS WORLD'S #1 MOZART PIANO CONCERTOS 9-CD BOX SET

MOZART SCHOLAR, AUDIOPHILE & AUTHOR | SAN FRANCISCO CA & HONOLULU HI | 04/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"RATED 5 STARS BY MOZART AUDIOPHILES WORLD'S #1 MOZART 22 PIANO CONCERTOS 9-CD BOX SET BY WORLD CLASS PIANIST RUDOLF BUCHBINDER & VIENNA SYMPHONY RATED 10/10 FOR ARTISTIC & SOUND QUALITY IN 1999 BYGRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE!



ONE OF 20TH CENTURY'S GREATEST PIANISTS, RUDOLF BUCHBINDER PLAYS MOZART'S PIANO CONCERTOS LIKE MOZART DID ALLOWING THE AUDIENCE TO FEEL THE MUSIC WITH ELEGANCE, CLARITY, SIMPLICITY, AND BEAUTY!



MOZART THE PIANO CONCERTOS [9-CD BOX SET 22 PIANO CONCERTOS]

PERFORMED BY RUDOLF BUCHBINDER, CONDUCTOR & PIANIST WITH

& VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (VSO)



RELEASE DATE: 08/16/2005

PLAYING TIME: 9 HOURS 39 MINUTES



THIS MOZART 22 PIANO CONCERTOS 9-CD BOX SET IS FOUND IN MOST MOZARTEAN'S CD/MP COLLECTON BECAUSE IT WAS RECORDED IN 24-BIT AUDIO THE WORLD'S HIGHEST 100% DIGITAL CD STANDARD THAT CAPTURES EVERY MUSICAL NOTE'S DETAILS AND NUANCES!



CD REVIEW

RUDOLPH BUCHBINDER IS REGARDED BY MOZART AUDIOPHILES AS ONE OF THE 20TH CENTURY'S GREATEST CLASSICAL PIANISTS LIKE VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY, ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN, VLADIMIR HOROWITZ, ALFRED BRENDEL, CLAUDIO ARRAU, AND INGRID HAEBLER JUST TO MENTION A FEW NAMES!



THE VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CONDUCTOR/PIANIST RUDOLF BUCHBINDER PERFORM MOZART'S PIANO CONCERTOS THE WAY THE COMPOSER INTENDED THEM TO BE PLAYED AND HEARD! BUCHBINDER AND THE VIENNA SYPHONY ARE BREATHTAKING ON EVERY ARTISTIC LEVEL! RUDOLF BUCHBINDER IS A BRILLANT CLASSICAL PIANIST WHOSE EXHIBITS SUPERIOR MUSICIANSHIP, VIRTUOSITY, A SUPERB EAR FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC COLOR, AND A SIXTH SENSE FOR HITTING UPON THE RIGHT PIANO TEMPO!



THIS 9-CD BOX SET'S PERFORMANCES WERE RECORDED LIVE WITH RUDOLF BUCHBINDER CONDUCTING FROM THE PIANO THE VIENNA SYMPHONY AT THE VIENNA GROSSE MUSIKVEREINSAAL [GOLDEN HALL] EUROPE'S MOST ACOUSTICALLY PERFECT CONCERT HALL!



THIS MOZART PIANO CONCERTOS 9-CD BOX SET FEATURES 22 OF MOZART'S 25 PIANO CONCERTOS AND

IS MISSING ONLY THREE (3) OF MOZART'S MOST POPULAR PIANO CONCERTOS:

1. CONCERTO FOR THREE PIANOS NO.7 IN F MAJOR [K.242 LODRON]

2. CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS NO.10 IN E MAJOR [K. 365]

3. RONDO IN A FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRA (K.386)



FROM 1773 TO 1791, MOZART COMPOSED 25 PIANO CONCERTOS IN THE MAJOR KEY [SHOWN BELOW WITHOUT MAJOR KEY]

AND 2 PIANO CONCERTOS IN THE MINOR KEY [NO.20 & NO.24].



TRACKS LISTING

CD#1

1. PIANO CONCERTO NO.5 IN D [K.175] - COMPOSED IN 1773 SALZBURG

2. RONDO IN D FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRA [K.382] - COMPOSED 1773

AS ALTERNATE 3RD MOVEMENT FOR PIANO CONCERTO NO.5

3. PIANO CONCERTO NO.6 IN B [K.238] - COMPOSED 1776

4. PIANO CONCERTO NO.8 IN C [K.246] - COMPOSED 1777

CD#2

5. PIANO CONCERTO NO.9 IN E [K.271] JEUNEHOMME - COMPOSED 1777

6. PIANO CONCERTO NO.19 IN F [K.459] 1ST CORONATION - COMPOSED 1784

C#3

7. PIANO CONCERTO NO.11 IN F [K.413] - COMPOSED 1782

8. PIANO CONCERTO NO.12 IN A [K.414] - COMPOSED 1782

9. PIANO CONCERTO NO.13 IN C [K.415] - COMPOSED 1782

CD#4

10. PIANO CONCERTO NO.14 IN E [K.449] 1ST PLOYER - COMPOSED 1784

11. PIANO CONCERTO NO.15 IN B [K.450] - COMPOSED 1784

12. PIANO CONCERTO NO.16 IN D [K.451] - COMPOSED1784

CD#5

13. PIANO CONCERTO NO.17 IN G [K.453] 2ND PLOYER - COMPOSED1784

14. PIANO CONCERTO NO.18 IN B [K.456] PARADIS - COMPOSED 1784

CD#6

15. PIANO CONCERTO NO.20 IN D MINOR [K.466] - COMPOSED 1785

16. PIANO CONCERTO NO.21 IN C [K.467] - COMPOSED IN 1785

CD#7

17. PIANO CONCERTO NO.22 IN E [K.482] - COMPOSED 1785

18. PIANO CONCERTO NO.23 IN A [K.488] - COMPOSED 1786

CD#8

19. PIANO CONCERTO NO.24 IN C MINOR [K. 491] - COMPOSED 1786

20. PIANO CONCERTO NO.25 IN C [K.503] - COMPOSED1786

CD#9

21. PIANO CONCERTO NO. 26 IN D [K.537] 2ND CORONATION - COMPOSED 1788

22. PIANO CONCERTO NO. 27 IN B [K. 595] COMPOSED IN 1791 YEAR OF MOZART'S UNTIMELY DEATH



ABOUT RUDOLF BUCHBINDER, VIRTUOSO PIANIST/CONDUCTO

RUDOLPH BUCHBINDER WAS ADMITTED TO THE VIENNA MUSIK HOCHSCHULE TO STUDY PIANO AT AGE FIVE (5) AND REMAINS THE YOUNGEST STUDENT TO GAIN ENTRANCE IN THE SCHOOL'S HISTORY. RUDOLPH BUCHBINDER IS A REGULAR GUEST CONDUCTOR AND PIANIST OF INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ORCHESTRAS AS THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC, VIENNA PHILHARMONIC, NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, ORCHESTRE DE PARIS, AND LONDON PHILHARMONIC.



WOLFGANG MOZART [1756 -1791] INVENTOR MODERN PIANO CONCERTO

HIGHLY REGARDED BY CLASSICAL MUSICIANS AND AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE AS A MUSICAL GENIUS AND WORLD'S GREATEST COMPOSER, WOLFGANG MOZART WROTE HIS 25 IMMORTAL PIANO CONCERTO MASTERPEICES BETWEEN 1767 AND 1791.



THE PIANO WAS MOZART'S FAVORITE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT! IN THE LAST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY UNTIL HIS PREMATURE DEATH IN 1791, WOLFGANG MOZART WAS REGARDED BY HIS CONTEMPORARIES AS EUROPE'S GREATEST KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE FORTEPIANO AND MODERN PIANO! MOZART COMPOSED HIS CLASSICAL MASTERPIECES WITH THESE QUALITIES AS STATED IN MOZART'S OWN WORDS: "BEAUTY, CLARITY, LOGIC, AND BALANCE ARE THE QUALITIES BY WHICH I COMPOSE ALL MY MUSIC."





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