As a member of World Record Club in the early 1960s one
was often in demand from musical friends anxious to obtain recordings
available
only from WRC. These included some Colin Davis recordings, later
released on EMI and Classics for Pleasure, and Everest recordings,
including the first recording of Vaughan Williams’ Symphony
No.9. Most of all, though, it was the early Vox recordings of
Alfred Brendel in Mozart that created a stir. Though the accompaniment,
from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Paul Angerer, and the
recording left something to be desired, these rapidly acquired
cult status, especially when they were later released at 99p
on the Turnabout label. More recently some of these Vox recordings
have appeared on super-budget labels Vox, Regis and Tuxedo, all
well worth trying.
Brendel was soon snapped up by Vanguard, however, who recorded
him more effectively - often on three-track tapes - and gave
him a better team of accompanists, the Solisti di Zagreb under
Antonio Janigro, who also went on to make several recommendable
recordings for Vanguard in their own right.
The two concertos, K271 and K449, have already led quite an adventurous
life on CD, having been available at super-budget price on the
Regis label and later, capitalising on the fact that the original
recording was made on three channels, on SACD on their ‘home’ label
Vanguard. That Vanguard reissue is currently available on two
2-CD set (ATMCD1890 with various fillers, including the Sonata
No.8, ATMCD1185 containing Concertos Nos.9, K271, 17, K453, 20,
K466, and 24, K491) each for around £10.25.
The two concertos and the sonata also appeared briefly on separate
discs as part of a Brilliant Box, in which form they were
reviewed in
2002 by Christopher Howell. Now Alto have coupled the two concertos
and the sonata on a well-filled super-budget release - excellent
value for around £5.
K271 is generally and justifiably regarded as the best of Mozart’s
early concertos, not just because it has acquired a nickname,
and it was and is a particular favourite of Brendel; he chose
to perform it at his farewell concert in 2008. As the brief but
informative notes to this Alto release point out, his performance
then was much more ‘operatic’ than this early recording
which, nevertheless, remains a valuable record of his perfectly
justifiable earlier, lighter view of the music.
From the very opening I found this interpretation thoroughly
convincing, with no need to make allowances of any kind. The
solo playing is entrancing, the accompaniment by a chamber-size
orchestra just right and the recording still much more than acceptable.
Add the fact that Brendel performs Mozart’s own cadenzas,
which have unusually been preserved, and you couldn’t want
more. And for all the lightness of touch, Brendel and Janigro
don’t down-size the slow movement at all; by an amazing
coincidence both he and Imogen Cooper (see below) take 12:49
for this movement. Howard Shelley on Chandos is faster, yet still
manages not to down-size this movement.
You could have something different and enjoy it without mitigating
the pleasure of hearing this early Brendel account. There are,
in fact, two modern recordings of K271 that I rate very highly:
Imogen Cooper directing the Northern Sinfonia, coupled with No.23,
K488 on Avie AV2100 - see Colin Clark’s
review -
and Howard Shelley, also acting as soloist and director, of the
London Mozart Players, coupled with No.17, K453, on Chandos CHAN9068
- see my
March
2009 Download Roundup. Cooper offers the frisson of live
performances and her version of K271 is coupled with an equally
fine account of my favourite among the mature concertos, No.23,
K488. Despite the fact that the Avie and Chandos are both digital
recordings, they don’t put the Alto reissue in the shade
sound-wise; in some respects the older ADD sound is brighter
than Avie’s live recording for Cooper and almost a match
for Chandos’s for Shelley.
Both Cooper and Shelley offer fresh interpretations with a light
touch. I recommended Cooper’s versions of Nos.24, K491,
and 25, K503 in my
March
2009 Download Roundup, alongside Shelley’s versions
of K271 and K453. I stand by what I said about those two very
fine performers then; they may, in their different ways, find
something here and there that you won’t find in Brendel,
but I can’t say that they surpass him. If I lean slightly
towards Shelley, it’s a very close-run thing - and bear
in mind that he comes at full price, so is more expensive than
the Alto, even as a download. You may prefer Cooper’s or
Shelley’s couplings. What is remarkable is the fact that
I was able to listen to the three performances one after the
other without tiring of hearing K271, something which wouldn’t
be true of many musical works.
I’m not so sure that I’d want to hear Brendel’s
other concerto, K449, quite so many times consecutively, but
there aren’t as many rival versions to consider. I’ve
yet to catch up with Howard Shelley and the LMP (Chandos CHAN9137,
with K595). My comparison, therefore, must be with Jenö Jandó with
Concentus Hungaricus/György Ligeti on Naxos 8.550202, a
fine performance and recording, coupled with K414 and the excellent
K467, well worth having but somewhat outshone by Brendel, who
offers an especially sparkling account of the finale. In any
case, there are better versions than Jandó’s of
K467, including my own favourite, Stephen Kovacevich.
As far as Brendel’s accounts of the two concertos are concerned,
I return to CH’s summary of CD1 of the Brilliant Box reissue: ‘With
the 1966 recording still sounding very well this is a disc to
be remembered alongside Brendel’s more famous later Mozart
recordings.’
Nor can I improve on what CH said about CD2 of the Brilliant
collection, of which he regarded K310 as the highlight: ‘All
in all, this is Mozart playing of the highest calibre and should
be heard in all the musical academies of the world as a demonstration
that scrupulous observance of the composer’s text in no
way inhibits a free-flowing, spontaneous performance of it.’ See
the link to this review above, also Jonathan Woolf’s
review and
Simon Thompson’s
review of
a more recent Brilliant Brendel reissue including K271 and K449.
Jos van Immerseel, accompanied by the Anima Eterna Orchestra
in K413, K415 and K449 offers a very enjoyable experience but
the use of ‘authentic’ instruments, including the
solo fortepiano, places that recording in a different league
from Brendel’s. Immerseel is on Channel Classics CCS0990
- not currently available, though other Mozart Piano Concerto
recordings in this series are.
Brendel’s later recordings of K271 remain available on
the Philips label: Duo 447 571-2 offers the work in a performance
with the ASMF and Neville Marriner, coupled with Nos.15, 22,
25 and 27 - good value for around £9 for two CDs - and
on a DDD disc with the SCO and Sir Charles Mackerras, coupled
with No.25, K503, at full price on 470 287-2 - see Christopher
Howell’s
review of
the latter.
Even if you have one or more of these rival recordings of K271,
you should not hesitate to add this splendid reminder of early
Brendel. Coupled with equally recommendable versions of K449
and K310, all three works in recordings which still sound very
well, it’s just about the most secure nomination that I’ve
made for Bargain of the Month.
Brian Wilson
Alfred Brendel (piano) 
