RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto no.18 in B flat, K.456 (1784) [30:43]
Piano Concerto no.19, in F, K.459 (1784) [27:35]
Cristofori/Arthur Schoonderwoerd (fortepiano)
rec. Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans, France, 14-17 May 2012. DDD
ACCENT ACC 24278 [58:18]
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto no.20 in D minor, K.466 (1785) [30:15]
Piano Concerto no.21 in C, K.467 (1785) [27:19]
Cristofori/Arthur Schoonderwoerd (fortepiano)
rec. Eglise Notre-Dame, Besançon, France, 6-8 June 2011. DDD
ACCENT ACC 24265 [57:34]
These two CDs, released a year apart, are the first in a projected complete
cycle of Mozart's piano concertos on historical instruments, and they are
revelatory. Dutch period specialist Arthur Schoonderwoerd plays a fabulously
responsive reproduction 1782 Anton Walter 5-octave fortepiano - one that Mozart
is known to have owned - whilst directing a very trim ensemble consisting
of pairs of violins, violas, oboes, horns, trumpets and bassoons, plus one
flute, timpanist and cello and double bass. By comparison, Maria João
Pires's very ordinary recording for Deutsche Grammophon (4790075) of K.466
and K.595 with the so-called Orchestra Mozart under Claudio Abbado comprised
no fewer than 24 violins, 10 violas, 4 flutes, oboes, bassoons, five horns
and 24 other musicians!
According to the blurb, the musicians of Cristofori under Schoonderwoerd have
set themselves "the goal of liberating Mozart's works from the sound concepts
of the 19th and 20th centuries", and hearing these chamber-like textures is
in some respects like doing so for the first time. Which is not to say these
are anaemic accounts by any stretch: Schoonderwoerd somehow conjures up quite
a hefty orchestral sound from reduced resources - and not just courtesy of
the timpani. If this is what audiences actually experienced when they went
to a Mozart concert in the 1780s, even those at the back would have been impressed.
Mozart of course was by this time a master orchestrator, and the quieter sound
of the fortepiano was carefully balanced against the ensemble, colouring in
during tutti passages whilst the many keyboard cadenzas are accompanied by
appropriately reduced forces.
In any case, the stunning design of these four concertos can be appreciated
as never before. True, those with more carnivorous tastes will not feel sated,
but for some of those who appreciate what Schoonderwoerd is trying to do for
Mozart, there may be no going back - this is what Mozart's piano concertos
should always sound like. What a pleasure it is, for example, to hear
the slow movement of the C major concerto freed from the clichés of
20th-century pianism, or the first movement of the D minor work communicate
musical SturmundDrang rather than the confected melodrama
of many a modern performance. Intriguing too to hear the reconstructed timpani
and (F!) trumpet parts of the F major concerto. Schola Cantorum Basiliensis's
Philip Tarr gives a convincing justification for this, their first and ostensibly
controversial use.
Sound quality is also top quality. Schoonderwoerd's booklet notes, under the
general theme of 'Mozart revisited', are an informative beacon of intelligent
clarity. In sum, this is a double coup de maître for him, Cristofori
and Accent - one of the finest recordings of 2012 and 2013. Mission
accomplished: Mozart has been liberated. Long live Mozart!
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
A double coup de maître. Mozart has been liberated. Long live
Mozart!
Masterwork Index: Mozart piano concertos 18
& 19 ~~ 20 ~~ 21
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