Knowing full well that
they were composed for entertainment,
one has to dig a bit deeper for the
genius in Mozart’s concertos for piano,
all of which were written for his own
playing. In the case of the two works
on this program, the innovation is in
the orchestration. It is in this pair
of concertos that Mozart gave his Viennese
public, to whom he condescendingly referred
as "the ignorant," a first
taste of the clarinet as an orchestral
instrument. It was here also that he
continued his formal experimentation
begun some years earlier in the serenades,
with scoring an orchestral work as a
dialogue between the winds and strings.
Having said all that,
this performance by Daniel Barenboim
and the Berliners still begs a few questions.
To wit: Having already made a very fine
set of Mozart’s concertos a couple of
decades ago, why did Maestro Barenboim
feel compelled to have a second go at
them? Further, what exactly could he
and an orchestra like the Berlin Philharmonic
possibly have new to say about music
that is both overly familiar and overly
recorded? And lastly, what would inspire
the public to buy this disc in that
it is not only one of dozens of available
recordings, and a reissue of same to
boot?
The first question
is beyond me to answer. Had Barenboim
played his first set under another conductor’s
baton, then a set, which featured his
own interpretations of both the orchestral
and soloist’s parts, may have been justified.
But he conducted and played both sets.
And one must ask what someone whose
repertoire is so varied and whose schedule
is so demanding could have found different
to say over the span of time between
the two efforts.
As to question number
two, the answer is: not much. In a word,
both the solo part and the orchestral
accompaniment are above reproach. The
rule of the day is clean, classically
styled and elegant playing on the part
of all involved, with a mild bit of
drama thrown in from time to time for
good measure. If this is repertoire
you need to fill out your collection,
you certainly need look no further for
excellent renditions. But should you
buy this if you already own a recording
with which you are happy? I would say
no.
Which leads to the
final question. The two pieces here
are amongst the finest and most interesting
of Mozart’s works in the genre, if indeed
there is any single work of Mozart’s
that stands above another. Moviegoers
will certainly appreciate the lilting
rondo from K. 482. But if you may be
seeking some fresh, startling original
interpretation, you will not find it
here.
To summarize: a beautifully
played, reasonably priced, well-documented
corporate redundancy that you should
be neither anxious nor ashamed to own.
Kevin Sutton
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim,
piano and conductor 