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PASC005:
Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K.595 - Mozart
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Artur
Schnabel
London
Symphony Orchestra,
Conductor: John Barbirolli
Recorded 2nd May, 1934, Abbey Road Studio 1, London.
Transfer and remastering by Andrew Rose, March 2007.
Issued as 4 HMV 78s, D.B.2249-D.B.2252
Download ID: 97543/432791 Duration 31'03"
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Written
in 1791, this was Mozart's final work in a genre he excelled at.
The work of a genius at his peak, this is surely one of the greatest Piano
Concertos ever written. In the hands of a pianistic genius like Artur
Schnabel (right), himself at his peak, it's hard to imagine
this recording being anything but excellent, but nothing quite prepared
us for how good this was.
Prepare
yourself for one of those wonderful moments when you completely forget
that you're listening to a recording made over 70 years ago - shut your
eyes and let the music carry you away.
REVIEW
OF MOZART - PIANO CONCERTO NO.27 K.595 Schnabel - LSO - Barbirolli
(1934)
Schnabel
is legendary. I learned his name early in my musical studies
but have seldom had the occasion to enjoy his playing. Many
a piano student has benefitted from his edition of the Beethoven
sonatas.
This
recording has a startling dynamic range and delicacy to it.
The unaccompanied piano phrases, the tails of which are played
pianissimo, are quite daring for this old format which was
beset with such a limited dynamic capability. This is not
a performance governed by calculated cerebriality, but rather
there seems to be a sense of a sweet savoring and prolonging
of the profound simplicity and purity of this music. Yes,
there is generous rubato, including the able accompaniment
led by Barbirolli, then in his mid-thirties and about to take
on a seven-year role leading the New York Philharmonic. But
the greater grace here is from Schnabel, whose perfectly shaped
phrases exceed that of the otherwise decent orchestral playing.
One wonders if Barbirolli had the advantage of modern session
playback, instead of the old direct-to-disc terrors, if he
would have shaped the orchestra more. Or, perhaps he found
it excessive and was determined to not fully match Schnabel's
sensitivities!
Andrew
has done a lovely restoration here. These performances don't
often get their due because the technology (or lack thereof)
gets in the way of the music, either because the discs themselves
are such a load of work to handle, or because the noise and
lo-fi mono sound is such an adjustment to our modern ears.
While anyone demanding DVD-Audio quality for everything they
hear need not apply, the rest of us can benefit from Andrew's
finely tuned engineering, which minimizes the limitations
of the old discs and brings the music nicely forward. No more
side changes (nor evidence of them, which is very impressive)!
No more pops, crackles, and cracked discs! If you're looking
for source "purity," a la Pearl Records' raw and
full-ranged noisy disc sound, be warned that these are restorations
and not simply transfers. A great deal of surface noise and
other "intrusions" have been carefully reduced,
and frequency balances no doubt have been carefully refined.
Further, I'll give away a dirty secret: there is a subtle
amount of short-length ambiance added to this Mozart recording,
though by no means is all of the ambiance on it.
This
begs the question of whether this kind of process serves the
music or creates something derivative. Ultimately that is
something for each listener to determine, and thanks to Andrew's
generous previews, can be readily answered. For me this functions
as a restoration should: not altering the artistic direction
of the performance, but delivering it clearly to the listener.
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