| Site review by Polly Nomial March 3, 2008
|
Performance: |
A lovely disc of playing.
This, as the title indicates, is the third volume in Zacharias' cycle of the piano concertos. It promises to be an enjoyable prospect (if incomplete due to the first two volumes being released on RBCD only - perhaps a reissue will follow) - one should be aware that this is not performed in the HIP style so widely used today and for those steeped in either the HIP style or period instruments, the rich tone of the Steinway piano (in wonderful condition incidentally) and the vibrato laden strings will come as something of a shock to the ears. For those recoiling in horror, it should be noted that the strings are not heavy (as was the case all too often in the 1960's) but the vibrato is used to round-out the sound (think perhaps Perahia's ECO).
As with many of the great cycles that have gone before, Zacharias is careful in his choice of tempi - they are mainstream from a historical perspective (which these days is almost controversial in itself) but never flagging. Nor is the phrasing anything other than what is best called natural, which means the musical argument is allowed to take on a life of its own in these cases - a joy to both the ear and the mind. Similar to the strings, the woodwind are bright of tone and lithe in timbre. Zacharias directs the Lausanne players with considerable aplomb and all in all, this release must count as a great success. At no stage are any distracting mannerisms heard from Zacharias or his ensemble nor is anything other a (cerebral) smile far from the listener and it would be unreasonable to rate the playing as anything other than very highly.
The sound is, as ever with the 2+2+2 system from MDG, very good but lacking the last ounce of clarity due to the height information being channelled to speakers instead of a conventional 5(.1) set-up.
|
Copyright © 2008 John Broggio and SA-CD.net
|
|
| Review by JJ April 25, 2008 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
|
Performance: Sonics (S/MC): / |
In this third volume, Zacharias’ Mozart becomes essential, if not quintessential, in a universe for piano and concerto that is fascinating. The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra N°17 in G major KV 453 dates from 1784, and inspired the musician Alfred Einstein to say: “In a friendly key are hidden many mysterious smiles and painful wounds – words cannot be found to describe the permanent irisation of feelings in the first movement, the passionate interiority of the second.” The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra N°19 in F major KV 459 was also composed in 1784 right after “the fourth of the six Quartets dedicated to Haydn”, states Mihel Parouty. Three days after finishing it on December 14, Mozart became a Freemason. Leading from the piano the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne to heights of subtlety, Christian Zacharias brings out a thousand colors from these eternal scores. With exemplary phrasing he opens the doors to a world that is often approached but rarely captured with such intelligence. It is true that Zacharias’ Mozart is rarely flamboyant, but he brings forth unique beauty that only the deaf cannot hear. He allows his musical discourse to breathe, a reminder of days when music had universal meaning. This is a Super Audio CD that eclipses all others.
Jean-Jacques Millo
Translation Lawrence Schulman
|
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
