Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 22 & 23 (CD review)

Daniel Barenboim, piano; Rafael Kubelik, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. BR Klassik 900709.

My earliest recollection of Barenboim performing Mozart was his 1968-71 recordings of the late Mozart symphonies on EMI with the English Chamber Orchestra. For their spark and imagination, I thought at the time they were the best all-around performances of the symphonies I had heard, and I continue to prize them highly. So it was with a good deal of eager anticipation that I listened to these Mozart piano concertos recorded around the same time, 1970, that he conducted the symphonies, with Barenboim this time on piano and Rafael Kubelik leading the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Surprisingly, the folks at BR Klassik are releasing the performances now for the very first time, but better late than never, I suppose; they did not disappoint me in any way.

Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, KV 482 is an analogue studio recording sounding better than almost anything you'll find today. The interpretation is wonderfully dynamic under Kubelik, he and his orchestra are perfect accompanists for Barenboim, whose playing is lively and fresh, just as his symphony recordings of the same era were. The opening Allegro is joyous, despite quick tempos the music never seeming hurried, followed by a slow middle movement, with feelings of longing and loneliness as effective and affecting as anyone could ask. Then Mozart changes the mood entirely with a bouncy, catchy final Allegro, which, nevertheless, Barenboim manages to merge seamlessly with the wistful preceding passages, making a well-knit whole that is maybe the best I've ever heard in this work.

Concerto No. 23 in A major, KV 488 is a live recording, also from 1970. The booklet note tells us that No. 23 was the very first Mozart concerto Barenboim ever played--at the age of eight! I guess you could say he knew it pretty well. No. 23 has a more mellow, mature quality to it than No. 22, with a more melancholy slow movement, and the pianist, conductor, and orchestra bring to it great intensity and emotional thrust, yet without any sense of the melodramatic. Although Barenboim and Kubelik make both pieces highly personal, they keep their own emotions from intruding on the music, letting Mozart speak for himself.

Moreover, the excellence of the sound complements the brilliance of the performances, especially in the studio recording. There is great presence here, with a big, grand, natural, you-are-there realism that doesn't sacrifice its concert-hall warmth and ambience. You'll find these recordings clean, translucent, and dynamic, the sonics as vibrant and engaging as the music.

It's a splendid album from every angle, an absolute delight, and a complete mystery why it sat waiting forty years for somebody to release it. These concertos are little gems, and under Barenboim and company they sparkle.

JJP