Mozart: Piano Concertos 20 & 27 (CD review)

Evgeny Kissin, Kremerata Baltica. EMI 50999 6 26645 2 3.

The idea on this disc is to contrast two of Mozart's late piano concertos, Nos. 20 and 27, to show how they demonstrate, on the one hand, the composer's darker dispositions and, on the other, his lighter, final words on the subject. The idea works pretty well, thanks in large part to solo pianist and conductor Evgeny Kissin and the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica.

Like Mozart, Kissin was a child prodigy, Kissin giving his first public recital when he was about ten and recording his first album when he was around thirteen. Here, he shows us his affinity for Mozart in two creative yet loving interpretations. When he was younger, Kissin struck me as spending more time dazzling listeners with his magic finger work than in delving too deeply into the music he was playing. Now that he is older, approaching forty, his maturity and experience materialize in more thoughtful and heartfelt performances. These Mozart recordings are a good example.

In the Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466 (1785), Kissen establishes the work's ties to Mozart's later Don Giovanni (1787) from the opening notes, all brooding and threatening. But then when the piano enters, it's gentle and soothing, at least until it catches up with the more menacing tones of the first few minutes. After that, Kissin alternates Mozart's more austere and rhapsodic moods. Interestingly, the booklet note says that Kissin does not improvise the extended cadenza at the end of the first movement as Mozart undoubtedly would have done but, instead, uses Beethoven's popular version. Still, Kissin makes the cadenza sound improvised in its spontaneousness and spark.

The slow movement Romanze is really the heart of the Concerto, however, and Kissin handles it with great respect, if not quite wringing from it the utmost pathos that, say, Curzon (Decca) did. Nevertheless, the overall effect works nicely enough, and one comes away properly moved by the music. A somewhat ambiguously sparkling Allegro concludes the piece in an assumed carefree manner.

Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat, K595 (1791), was Mozart's final piano concerto, and in comparison to No. 20 it is lighter and more lyrical, but it is also perhaps a touch more melancholy. At least, that's the way Kissin sees it. Kissin takes all the movements a bit more quickly than many of his rivals yet never lets the music's inner beauty become obscured. Even the jaunty little final movement has an air of wistfulness about it. These are perceptive and original interpretations by Kissin that should not go unnoticed.

EMI recorded the two concertos in Munich in 2008, capturing a pleasantly ambient acoustic that perfectly suits the music; it's slightly resonant without in any way hampering midrange transparency. There is ample stage depth for the relatively small ensemble accompanying Kissin, with a realistic piano sound, reasonably wide dynamics, a modest impact, and good, clean definition and air. It's probably easier to describe the sound by what it's not: It's not bright, hard, or edgy nor is it unnecessarily warm, soft, clouded, or fuzzy. For this music, it is just right.

JJP