RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-91)
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 (1785) [33:27]
Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595 (1791) [32:19]
Mitsuko Uchida (piano and director)
Cleveland Orchestra
rec. 15, 17, 18 April 2010, Severance Hall, Cleveland
DECCA 4782596 [65:46]
Relatively recently Dame Mitsuko Uchida has joined the endless succession
of soloists who now direct from the keyboard - or, in some cases, violin or
cello. She is also, on the evidence of this CD, one of the most outstandingly
successful. I am sure the Cleveland Orchestra would play superlatively well
even if a chimpanzee were conducting them, but interpreting great music in
a way that radiates meaning and character is quite another matter. It has
to be said that many of those in the soloist-turned-conductor ranks are at
best adequate and, I suspect, motivated by the prospect of larger fees. Ms.
Uchida - she prefers not to use her title publicly - not only achieves complete
unity with the Cleveland players, but also imbues the music with quiet but
powerful personality. These performances are poised and in no way ostentatious.
There is just enough restraint at the opening of the D minor, and certainly
no lack of tension – surely the most vital element. These are definitely performances
to live with, free from exaggeration or interpretative quirks and more deeply
rewarding on each listening. It has been said that Ms. Uchida errs on the
side of Beethoven, but I really do not see why this should be considered a
fault. She is by no means the first pianist to show how close those two composers
are at times.
Each of these concertos has a central movement of Romanza character. The D
minor is actually so labelled, while that in the B flat is not, but it surely
belongs in this family. Ms. Uchida's performance of the D minor slow movement
is a model of unaffected simplicity, the stormy middle section powerful without
being hectic; neither is the following rondo hectic. The same genuine simplicity
works just as marvellously in the Larghetto of the B flat Concerto. Here the
tempo is just a little con moto, whereas many pianists take a slightly slower
speed which can lead to a feeling of indulgence. In both movements Ms. Uchida
ornaments the melodic line in the most convincing way I have ever heard –
unfussy and unselfconscious. Tempos for the outer movements are eminently
sensible, by which I mean wise. Judicious is often used as a euphemism for
dull, but here it is meant in the best sense of the word. The opening movement
of K595 may at first seem steady, but Ms. Uchida's expressive moulding of
the melodic lines increases the pathos of this music, underlining its bleaker
aspect. If I may put on a soapbox manner, I would say that tempo in itself
is usually not critically important. What really matters is what you do -
how you phrase, how you sustain - within the chosen tempo. Only the greatest
artists can take a slightly risky tempo, a little slower or faster than usual,
and convince you of its validity.
Perhaps the coda to the rondo of K. 466 is a bit unsmiling, a little strait-laced,
but this is the smallest of points. Ms. Uchida plays Beethoven's cadenzas
in the D minor and Mozart's own in the B flat. This is an outstanding CD by
one of the greatest Mozart players of our time, beautifully recorded.
Philip Borg-Wheeler
An outstanding CD by one of the greatest Mozart players of our time, beautifully
recorded.