[Oistrakh]

I really like mitsuko uchida... very graceful and elegant

 

[seacard]

I've been listening to the Ashkenazy set for the last couple weeks essentially non-stop and I must say that I disagree with DA's opinion on this. For me, this set doesn't quite work. First, there is too much going on... the orchestra is a bit larger/darker than these works demand. I would also prefer a "cleaner" or "clearer" piano tone (not necessarily sound quality, which I'm fine with, but the pianist's tone). For Mozart, I would prefer a crystal clear sound from the piano, a small orchestra, and the piano miked a little closer so that it is just slightly dominant.

My favorite individual CD is the Moravec/Marriner recording of 20/23, and I would like a set that mirrors that recording and Moravec's tone. (I am also waiting to hear the Brendel/Mackerras and Goode/Orpheus individual CDs.)

So, as for complete sets with the type of sound/tone and orchestra that I'm looking for, and with sound quality that is roughly equivalent, I'm down to these three:

1) Brendel/Marriner
2) Perahia
3) Uchida

Has anybody heard the new remastering of the Perahia that came out two weeks ago? Has the sound quality caught up to the Uchida set, and suprassed the original Brendel set?

 

[Oistrakh]

I dare someone to say martha argerich set

 

[Bunnyears]

One of my favorite Mozart Piano concerto sets is the Malcolm Bilson/John Eliot Gardiner complete cycle. Gardiner's Mozart is a lot better than his Beethoven which sometimes sounds a bit perfunctory. Bilson's performances are very balanced and he uses a very good sounding fortepiano. If you want HIP Mozart, this is the set to get.

For modern Mozart, I lean towards the Anda and Perahia concertos. I also have the 2 Goode recordings that DA mentioned. I liked the packaging too, and found that the interpretations were excellent.

 

[Masolino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears One of my favorite Mozart Piano concerto sets is the Malcolm Bilson/John Eliot Gardiner complete cycle. Gardiner's Mozart is a lot better than his Beethoven which sometimes sounds a bit perfunctory. Bilson's performances are very balanced and he uses a very good sounding fortepiano. If you want HIP Mozart, this is the set to get.

The set (of all solo concertos) made by Jos van Immerseel and his orchestra Anima Eterna on the Dutch Channel Classics label actually sounds better than the Bilson/Gardiner cycle, even if the latter already has pretty decent SQ. Besides Immerseel conducted all performances from the keyboard, as did Mozart himself. The set was made in the 1990s and is now available at a reduced price at Amazon. I also prefer the more characterful solo playing by Robert Levin and Andreas Staier in this repertoire, but, sadly, neither has made it to a complete cycle to this date.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...03UWY?v=glance

Quote:

For modern Mozart, I lean towards the Anda and Perahia concertos. I also have the 2 Goode recordings that DA mentioned. I liked the packaging too, and found that the interpretations were excellent.

One name not yet mentioned in this thread is Christian Zacharias who has a complete solo Mozart concerto cycle (on modern instruments) available cheap on (French) EMI. Several conductors such as Marriner and Zinman made contribution at the podium. The orchestra never sounds thick and heavy, and Zacharias' playing is just intelligent and delightful. Actually the set is so good I have stopped looking for alternatives on modern pianos, even if I also have and enjoy the single discs by Edwin Fischer, Michelangeli, Argerich, Anderszewski etc.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/...album_id=58062

 

[seacard]

Has anybody heard this Mozart set? It got the dreaded 10/10 from classicstoday, and I'm very curious about it, especially how it compares to Brendel...

 

[Bunnyears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masolino /img/forum/go_quote.gif The set (of all solo concertos) made by Jos van Immerseel and his orchestra Anima Eterna on the Dutch Channel Classics label actually sounds better than the Bilson/Gardiner cycle, even if the latter already has pretty decent SQ. Besides Immerseel conducted all performances from the keyboard, as did Mozart himself. The set was made in the 1990s and is now available at a reduced price at Amazon.

I have to thank you for this recommendation. I have been enjoying the performances so much that it has become my favorite. The sq is indeed better than the Bilson/Gardiner set which does it no harm in my eyes.

 

[DarkAngel]

I would like to add a few great Forte Piano versions of popular Mozart piano concertos 16-25 to my collection and the Cds by Hogwood/Levin and Andreas Staier recommemded by Masolino sound really good but the prices are obscencely expensive!

I do have a couple Gardiner/Bilson Cds but am not thrilled with them, the others mentioned above sound better from samples. The Immerseel complete set would be overkill........but cost about the same as 3 CDs by Staier/Levin so may still be viable option.

 

[Bunnyears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would like to add a few great Forte Piano versions of popular Mozart piano concertos 16-25 to my collection and the Cds by Hogwood/Levin and Andreas Staier recommemded by Masolino sound really good but the prices are obscencely expensive! I do have a couple Gardiner/Bilson Cds but am not thrilled with them, the others mentioned above sound better from samples. The Immerseel complete set would be overkill........but cost about the same as 3 CDs by Staier/Levin so may still be viable option.

The Staier recordings with the Concerto Köln are oop, so they will be obscenely expensive because they are highly desirable. The Immerseel recordings are still around, but are now only going to be issued as part of the boxed set, but they should still be available at more reasonable prices. The Levin/Hogwood recordings are also oop, so the prices may be higher as well.

 

[seacard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Staier recordings with the Concerto Köln are oop, so they will be obscenely expensive because they are highly desirable. The Immerseel recordings are still around, but are now only going to be issued as part of the boxed set, but they should still be available at more reasonable prices. The Levin/Hogwood recordings are also oop, so the prices may be higher as well.

Four of the Levin recordings are available from Arkiv (on CD-R). Just a week ago, I would have simply skipped over all these posts about HIP recordings. But now having listened to Brautigam's Beethoven (thanks Bunny!), I too am looking for a bit of fortepiano Mozart and Haydn. From my research, sounds like Levin is the best of these, but I guess if I want the full set, Immerseel is the way to go.

 

[Bunnyears]

Seacard,
It's really great to hear that the Hogwood/Levin cds have been reissued by Arkiv. I haven't heard them, so cannot comment as to their quality. I have many of Staier's recordings, and have to say that anything that Staier does is worth having. I have his Haydn sonatas and variations (DHM Staier Edition) and it's just beautiful. He also is playing a lovely sounding instrument. As for Immerseel, his piano concertos probably will edge out the Hogwood because he has a really fine way with the music. Under his direction the orchestra play feels as natural as breathing. In addition, you get the wonderful Channel Classics sound quality. The sound quality of just about all of the Decca/L'Oiseau Lyre recordings is a bit dated, which is also something to consider when spending $15 for a cd.

 

[BAwig05]

I have the Uchida and it is very good indeed.

I also like the Barenboim set on Warner with the Berlin Philharmonic. Honestly, I'm not sure why, but I enjoy these, certainly more than Barenboim's EMI set,

Included in the Complete Mozart Edition for Brilliant Classics is the Han/Freeman/Philharmonia set. It isn't bad, but iI do feel it lacks something in comparison to the cycles I noted above.

 

[seacard]

Nobody has any comment on the Buchbinder set? Tyson? DA? Bunny?

Do you guys know whether Levin and/or Staier plan on ever completing their cycles or have they been abandoned? Also, I wonder if Brautigam will record a cycle. His Mozart Piano Sonatas are excellent, and the two discs that I have of the Beethoven are two of my favorite purchases in the last year.

 

[JayG]

I'm glad this thread has been revived. Mozart's PCs are woefully underrepresented in my collection, and since I really enjoy them and they are so important in music history, I really need to correct the problem.

The only complete set I have is the Uchida, and I don't like it very much. I listened to some clips of the Mackerras/Brendel discs that have been mentioned, and they sound very very good, especially the orchestra. But they really are expensive. The Goode discs are alsi intriguing to me, but are also expensive and not yet available as a set.

There are a lot of options, but I haven't decided on one yet that has convinced me enough to make the purchase.

-Jay

 

[Bunnyears]

Try the Immerseel complete concertos (Channel Classics). It's available in a budget edition that can be had for less than $50.00 and it's just great. Gardiner also has an HIP set for about the same price, but the sq isn't as good. And finally, if you prefer big band Mozart, the Geza Anda set from DG is also available in the same range and that is probably one of the best modern instrument sets around. These can all be had for the price of 3 or 4 of the individual recordings.