tirsdag, 11 februar 2014 21:24

Four piano concertos by Mozart on two different pianos.

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Martin Helmchen and Christian Ihle Hadland have both recorded two of Mozart's piano concertos. I have listened to both releases, and found both similarities and fundamental differences.

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Mozart's 27 piano concertos were largely composed for performance by Wolfgang Amadeus himself as soloist. The earliest concertos was performed on the harpsichord, while the later piano concertos were performed on the piano. It's made countless recordings of Mozart`s piano concertos, and the vast majority are recorded with modern Grand pianos. But there are also some recordings recorded on the forte-piano, which strictly speaking is most historic correct.

In 2013, there was released two recordings of piano concertos by Mozart where there are some very clear similarities, despite the fact that there are different piano concerts, different performers and different label. They are both recorded with young pianists who have barely rounded the 30, and with a sparkling play. And yet playing styles very different.


We start with the new arrival - Martin Helmchen with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gordan Nikolic. It is a hybrid multichannel SACD, released on PentaTone Classics. Martin Helmchen has chosen piano concerto no. 15 and 27, or maybe someone has chosen them for him? Anyway this is not his first recording with piano concertos by Mozart at PentaTone, and something tells me that it is not the last.

The sound on this recording is excellent, a multi-channel mix that is rather conventional when compared with some other approaches I've listened to ilately from 2L and TACET, but which nonetheless are very close to the musicians, and gives the listener an excellent listening position in a highly transparent and dynamic sound.

Martin Helmchen has a highly rated full play, with a heavy atack that constantly causes a marked and occasionally close to staccato performance. This gives me an immediate association to performances on the forte-piano, but of course only a little touch of this direction. Yet, experiencing this quality that Helmchen`s playing might be said to be more close to the original performances. Put another way, one may also say that Helmchen has a distinctly masculine textures in their playing.

The second and equally interesting quality with Martin Helmchen`s playing is that this masculine attack is combined with a brilliance and playfulness that seems almost incredible. And in the quiet 2. movements, there is a sensitivity that appears as an almost magical impossibility in combination with the masculine attacks he uses. This is particularly true in the Andante no.14, but also on the Larghetto from Mozart's last piano concerto. There is a soft playfulness as it is easy to attribute that youthfulness.

 

And this aspect has great similarities with the soloist on the other recording that I have ben listening to with Mozart's piano concertos. Now we are over at the Simax label, and pianist Christian Ihle Hadland playing with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. In this release, they have chosen piano concerto no. 21 and 22.

The great similarity between Hadland and Helmchen is that they both have a playful, youthful and virtuoso performance. But the means are very different. Christian Ihle Hadland has a very wide dynamic range of the attacks, which alternates between feather lightweight and powerful. It's almost as if Hadland dances playfully across the keyboard, and occasionally performs almost virtuosic mischief. Totally in keeping with Mozart's spirit, if we are to believe in the film Amadeus. We may be able to climb out on a thin branch and dare to claim that there Helmchen has a style that fits Mozart's time and instruments, while Hadland approached Mozart's spirit in a slightly more modern style. And then I rather climb gently into the trunk again before the branch breaks.

Also Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra has a somewhat slightly more modern interpretation of Mozart than the Dutch orchestra has, and thus one may also say that both orchestras supports the soloist's performance style. Or maybe it is vice versa?

Simax`s release is a regular CD, with a more than ordinarily attractive packaging. The sound quality is excellent here too, though the few of us who have a weak ear towards multichannel music don`t get the disposition fulfilled here. However, we get an excellent dynamics and transparency in the sound stage.

 

 

If anyone expects me to declare a winner among these two records, they will be disappointed. We are talking about two recordings with somewhat different character, but both of which contain brilliant interpretations of piano concerts of music history's giant. The two different approaches to the pianist Martin Helmchen and Christian Ihle Hadland represents an enrichment of the music - this is part of what makes classical music so interesting and enriching. I would not be without any of the recordings.

 

Read more about Martin Helmchen - Mozart Piano Concertos No.. 15 & 27 at Penta Tone Classics .

Read more about M ozart - Piano concertos Nos. 21 and 22 Christian Ihle Hadland - Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra with Simax .

Lest 13179 ganger Sist redigert lørdag, 22 februar 2014 12:55
Karl Erik Sylthe

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