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| PASC025:
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491 - Mozart |
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"...there are
among his records some which come fairly close to the reality of his playing.
A few even set a standard of unmannered perfection which transcends the
bounds of fashion. Best among his earlier records, in my opinion, are
a number of wonderful Bach interpretations, as well as the Schubert Impromptus
and the Mozart Concertos K. 466 (D minor) and K. 491 (C minor)..."
(From Afterthoughts on Edwin Fischer, Alfred Brendel, 1976)
Edwin
Fischer's piano playing has become something of a quest for me as a restorer
- it was his masterful recording of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier which
first switched me on to this wonderful performer, and I have been delighted
to be able to find more 78rpm discs of his playing in superb condition
from which to work.
This
1937 recording shows Fischer at his best, if perhaps somewhat let down
by his orchestral accompaniment both in playing and sound. Clearly there's
little I can change about the former, though I have done what I can to
remedy the latter! Now you can savour one of Mozart's finest Piano Concertos
at the hands of one of his greatest interpreters in this wonderful newly-remastered
recording from Pristine Audio!
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REVIEW
OF Mozart: Concerto No. 24
(Fischer, Collingwood) (1937) |
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One
of the musical moods that Mozart, beyond any other composer,
was capable of evoking was that of tragic passion. Works such
as the Requiem, the Symphony No. 40 and the G Minor String
Quintet exemplify this mood. With the Concerto No. 20, the
Concerto No. 24 is at the very pinnacle of this genre. Beethoven's
Concerto No. 3 seems an attempt to evoke it (compare the two
opening themes), but Beethoven's work remains stoic, not tragic
and does not convey the intensity of Mozart's.
Edwin
Fischer and Lawrence Collingwood give a first-rate performance
of the work. Collingwood directs an extremely poised performance
of the orchestral part, allowing the vitally important woodwind
parts to come through. Fischer's powerful arpeggios in the
development section of the first movement have a surge, an
elan that really conveys forward motion. Fischer is particularly
good in the final movement, which is a set of rather simple
sounding but contrapuntally brilliant variations. Fischer's
lightness of spirit almost turns to a carefree impudence in
parts of the movement.
With
a work like this, one of the greatest of all piano concertos,
I am compelled to recognize that Fischer's performance, as
fine as it is, does not match the nobility and power of two
others: the Casadesus/Szell monaural performance of the early
50's and that benchmark of modern performances: Piotr Anderszewski
playing and conducting the Sinfonia Varsovia in the late 1990's.
Yet the Fischer is well worth having and hearing for its special
classical style and always vital phrasing.
The
sound is very clear with fine registration of the woodwind.
Fischer's piano is pure and ringing out.
Reviewer:
Bill Rosen
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