Review: Mozart Piano Concertos 25 & 27--But Where's the Piano Mr. Levin?

[@richardegarr1441]

Thanks for listening Dave💥… just to answer 2 things… I always ask strings to vibrate ( and also use potamento😱) … and Robert really does improv on the spur of.. did a bunch of Beethoven 4th concerto perfs with him.. every time cadenzas were totally different .. really amazing Best to you 🖖

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thanks. You have the AAM sounding gorgeous. I just wish the fortepiano did too. Levin is too fine a player to settle for sounding like a xylophone, even an improvising one.

[@deVriesOP125]

OMG mr. Egarr I’m a big fan of your work with the Residentie! I actually went to your performance of The Ninth (👔) last month and had a wonderful time. Seeing you on Dave’s channel is a big surprise haha! And.. thank you for doing the last exclamation of “Götterfunken!” The right way with that technically awkward ritardando. So many conductors ruin that moment for me 😅

[@UlfilasNZ]

Went back to Bilson and Gardiner after listening to this, and I couldn't believe how much richer and more colourful his instrument sounds!

[@MatthewBassMan]

Thank you for highlighting this recording. Marvellous in EVERY way..but I love fortepianos..

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I love Mozart.

[@finn_blacklaws]

Hello Dave Hurwitz! Please do a video on the best recordings of Niccolo Paganinis 24 Caprices! Thank you!

[@richardmohr8604]

@@chrisnorlin57 Surely Perlman is the reference since that came out.

[@brunoluong7972]

The small scale of pianoforte could be due to the engineer or indded Levin subtle and fine playing. Staier and Pashchenko have shown that the balance issue is not related to the instrument. The choice of Paul Klee arts is because he is violinist and admired Hogwood. In any case, bravo Levin for finishing the Mozart concerto series.

[@nattyco]

It frustrates me when you can't hear properly the solo instrument or when it is not placed in a realistic position in the soundstage. Fortunately there is no shortage of recordings of Mozart Piano Concertos. Thank you, I will give this a miss. PS. In this regard I just listened to the excellent Moravec Beethoven 4th you recommended. Now there's a concerto recording where every instrument is realistically positioned and the piano is very well projected and that was recorded 57 years ago.

[@gardenphoto]

You're absolutely RIGHT, Dave, the fortepiano on this recording sounds ABISMAL in the extreme; ZERO bass and truly excruciating high notes! I think Mr. Levin & Mr. Egarr need to seriously reconsider their approach to Mozart... and S-can that fortepiano in favor of an instrument that sounds presentable and that CAN BE HEARD! Disappointing from this otherwise brilliant team!

[@brunoluong7972]

It seems Levin plays along during the orchestral introduction. I nevrer notice such practice in other versions.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, it’s done fairly often in HIP performances. Of course, it makes little sense if you have a real conductor, as here.

[@jensguldalrasmussen6446]

I wonder, whether you should check out your cd copy...maybe you by mistake got hold of the Music-minus-One version? 😁

[@trevorguy63]

The pianoforte used here doesn’t sound very different to me from the one Prof. Levin used in his Mozart sonata recordings, which you praised. Am I the crazy one here that can’t see significant differences in their timbre?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

That's very true. They are similar, although that earlier one I think had a touch more sustaining power and richer overtones, but the point isn't the timbre of the piano by itself--it's what happens when it has to compete with the full orchestra, in that particular acoustic space. Here it just vanishes, and its limitations are magnified. Obviously, a solo sonata is a completely different story.

[@petertaplin4365]

Chris Maene in Belgium along with Paul McNulty in the Czech Republic are regarded as the doyens of fortepiano making. From experience, fortepianos are really difficult to record and balance with any other group of instruments, even in a a quintet situation, because their volume output is zilch!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Then the doyens aren’t doing their jobs.

[@hallingerman2168]

Dave, I really appreciated the content of your talk and the lovely visual dimension. Looks like a lovely recording. A future possibility for you, Dave: music of NATURE: music of the sea, music of the mountains, music of the deserts, music of the air (winds and storms in music). The elements in music. As you know, there are many lovely pieces you could include, or at least identify. Thank you!

[@AlbertoBerrizbeitia-j8m]

Unfortunate that the whole effort in terms of the orchestral playing and the very nice CD presentation is diluted because of the weak/inexpressive instrument featured by Mr. Levin this time. What I see is that in the search of achieving "authentic period sound", some may forget about the basics of music interpretation itself, no matter how experienced they are. Don't you think?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes.

[@ahartify]

I heard it and see what you mean. To me the fortepiano sounds like someone plucking a miniature harp. I doubt Mozart would have approved of the sound..

[@markware1955]

As far as period instruments is concerned, I’ll bet if a 10’6” Fazioli was somehow transported back in time, Mozart would truly salivate to endorse it…

[@davidaiken1061]

Thanks, Dave, for raising some important crtical questions about the fortepiano (not just the particular instrument Levin plays on this recordings). To my ears, this is one "period instrument" that should have remained in the museum. I have nothing against HIP or, for that matter, period instrument ensembles when the level of artistry is high (as with the AAM on this recording). But the plonky timbre of the fortepiano and its seeming inability (as you pointed out) to create a "singing line" so essential for Mozart is a huge impediment to my enjoyment. I have the Bilson/Gardiner Mozart recordings, and they are tolerable, probably because the fortepiano is miked closely. But even there, I find myself longing, after a few minutes, for Casadesus/Szell or Perahia/ECO, or (my latest discovery) Ingrid Haebler with Davis, Rowicki or Galliera.

[@reamartin6458]

I’ve always held the opinion that period is a bit of a scam - same for Levin, he plays inferior instruments because his technique is inferior, but I’ve said too much.