This set of three piano concertos was written in one of Mozart’s
brightest periods, just after his marriage to Constanze Weber,
and at a time that his music was in close harmony with the tastes
and therefore the appreciation of his audiences.
Other than complete sets, there aren’t that many single-disc
releases which bring these fine concertos together in one place,
and for this reason we can be grateful to the musicians and
the Dynamic label. Gratitude from my viewpoint also comes for
the quality of the recording, which has a nicely natural balance
between the soloist and orchestra, whose strings are close and
present enough to take on the richness of Bacchetti’s piano,
which I take to be a Fazioli – in any case a very fine sounding
instrument indeed.
The performances are all very attractive: full of sprightly
energy and witty inflection, and expressively phrased without
mannered excess. True, other performances have highlighted the
moments of drama more, but this for me is a question of proportion.
There is no need to dig too deeply into very dark regions if
your general picture is so light and cheerful. The occasional
dark clouds which pass are just that, shadows which cast a momentary
phase of theatricality or emotional reflection, not elements
which require particularly extra-heavy emphasis. The minor-key
corners of K413 are made a good case for in this regard
– pulling us up just a little, and reminding us that things
need not always be easy and bathed in benign sunshine. This,
the booklet notes suggest, might be Mozart’s little memorial
to J.C. Bach who had died not long before in 1782, though H.C.
Robbins Landon tells us that it is the second movement of K414
which is based on a J.C. Bach theme.
This is music which can be very easily consumed, or which can
be picked apart mercilessly or allowed to transport us to heavenly
realms. I come closer to the latter with this recording, and
have very much enjoyed every moment I’ve spent in its company.
I like the sonic texture set up by the orchestra, which has
a decently rich-toned bass and plenty of bounce and refinement.
Andrea Bacchetti is the star of the show, and I was very enthusiastic
about hearing what he would do with Mozart. Well known for his
Bach recordings, I very much admire the alchemy he creates with
the simplest of music in recordings of lesser frequently performed
composers such as Marcello
and Galuppi
and Cherubini. Mozart is particularly deceptive – easy sounding,
but in fact one of, if not the most difficult of composers
to get ‘right’. Bacchetti’s playing throughout sounds more than
just ‘right’. He doesn’t go overboard with unconventional ornamentation
or artificial impositions of character, keeping to the text
of each concerto and bringing the notes to elegant life with
the kind of touch which allows you to hear music, rather than
‘piano’. The marvellously expressive entries, such as the juicy
Andante of K414 are all eagerly anticipated
and satisfyingly delivered with the kind of proportionate warmth,
dignity and pellucid tone which makes you know you’re going
to want to come back for more, every time.
Comparisons? There are just too many to go into with any sense
of direction. I still love Murray Perahia’s complete set on
Sony Classical and he does have the same sequence of concertos
on a single disc, though these recordings are something of a
different beast, with bigger-boned orchestral sound in an acoustic
to match. The same goes for the more romantic performing of
Rudolf Buchbinder with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on Hänssler
Classics, and so a choice for Bacchetti on Dynamic is one for
a more chamber-feel performance, with a more intimate feel.
While we’re looking into chamber-music scale, there is also
a fascinating recording of these concertos in their versions
for string quartet and piano played by Patrick Dechorgnat and
the Henschel Quartet on EMI. Very much an ‘alternative’ version,
it is nonetheless surprising how much of the music is still
effectively communicated in this formation. This is less true
for the grander scale of K415, though the timpani in
the present recording are, like the winds, less immediately
present than on many recordings. I like this perspective, with
the urgency of the opening Allegro supported by the
drums rather than lifted up and carried off shoulder high by
them due to over-enthusiastic microphone placement and levels.
Once again Bacchetti is very fine here, firming up his piano
sound when squaring up to the sterner competition of larger
forces, while still engaging in intricate musical dialogue.
His final Allegro is carefully paced rather than really
exuberant, but still grand music-making, and with really affecting
minor-key sections.
I do have one very minor criticism of the orchestra. This might
in part be due to the close recording, but critical listening
does show up an occasional ‘exposed’ feel to the upper violin
lines, where unity of intonation is not always perfect. This
is one of those aspects of smaller orchestral sections: where
you have a pleasantly light feel with fewer musicians you also
sail closer to the wind in terms of ensemble and accuracy. As
I say, this is a relatively minor point, but is one which nags
just a little throughout the programme. With the strings quite
resonantly forward the winds as mentioned before also tend to
sound a little recessed, adding colour rather than leaping out
at you like soloists.
A word also about the cover photo. I admire the attempt, but
in order to appear nonchalant it’s best to have something which
one would at least naturally lean against. Many musicians; and
Andrea Bacchetti is one of these, look best when performing
or at least look more comfortable with their instrument somewhere
nearby. I sense Andrea looking at the photographer with more
than a hint of ‘when is this charade going to finish?’, but
I can imagine the promoters probably wanted something a little
different. Well, I say bring back the piano.
Though it may not be all things to all people, this is altogether
a very fine slice of Italian musicianship by an ensemble and
soloist who have thoroughly absorbed their Mozart, and who can
perform his concertos with natural and truly enjoyable sensibility
and sensitivity.
Dominy Clements
Andrea Bacchetti (piano)