Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Product Description
Review
A peerless exponent of Mozart’s concertos, the 77-year-old chose to bow out defiantly with the youthful K.271 (instead of, say, the more autumnal K.595). The impression left after Brendel’s final UK appearance, a month earlier with the same work and conductor, was of age-belying ebullience; this performance is more elegiac. This is partly because the plush Vienna Philharmonic doesn’t respond as incisively as the Philharmonia did to Charles Mackerras’s direction, but is probably due more to Brendel’s state of mind: almost every note seems filled with poignant retrospection. This is, unmistakably, a final performance – the distillation of a lifetime’s experience and devotion.
The outer movements may not be as lively as on Brendel’s 1970s Philips recording with Neville Mariner, but this mature interpretation has unparalleled depth. The central Andantino has a rare intensity (without being over-romanticised), and Brendel conjures tone of remarkable beauty. Most spine-tingling is the ethereal minuet at the heart of the finale, rendered as a sublime dance of the spheres. The Viennese audience is not the quietest, and it’s an effort not to be distracted by Brendel’s grunting – but the reward is well worth it.
His vocalisations are less obtrusive in Hanover, as is the audience. The characteristically well-planned recital showcases composers with which Brendel has closest affinity. Mozart’s Sonata K.533/494 – of which Brendel says, with typical wry humour, he has had a “long courtship” – is penetrative, insightful, and flawlessly fluid. Haydn's F minor Variations are imbued with quiet emotion, helped by a silken touch; Beethoven's Op.27/1 balances tranquillity, animation and power.
A Brendel speciality, Schubert's mammoth final Sonata is the most substantial work here, with a heart-wrenching slow movement at its core. Propelled with graceful momentum, this valedictory account is more commanding than even his own previous recordings. Clearly Brendel retired while still at the top of his game. He will be greatly missed by concert-goers; this release is a welcome coda to his towering recorded legacy. --Graham Rogers
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
Customer Reviews
Sir Charles Mackerras, who conducts, is equally indestructible. We saw him recently in a sparkling performance with the Liverpool Phil(our local heroes). On these two recordings, he and the Vienna Philharmonika complement Brendel beautifully, as we hoped they would.
The other items are not quite as successful. Brendel clearly loves Mozart's Concerto No. 9, but this recording isn't lively or varied enough - Brendel's interpretation of this Concerto became more sedate as he grew older, and the depth doesn't quite make up for the lack of energy. This is pretty similar to his studio recording with Mackerras with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, although the latter is better mainly because of the less homogenised sound of the orchestra. Better still are his earlier efforts with Marriner on Philips and Janigro on Vanguard. That early one is still my favourite recording of this work.
The Beethoven and Schubert Sonatas are good but not exceptional - I always liked a darker Schubert D960 than Brendel's relatively cerebral approach offers, and the Beethoven has its moments but doesn't quite take wing. For objectivity's sake, I recently listened to Brendel's four recordings of the Schubert and found this one - along with the other live one from the late 90s - the most consistently satisfying. In general, it seems that Brendel was at his best in recital as opposed to in the studio in this work. In more detail: this recording scores in the opening movement - hauntingly beautiful in a way that Brendel didn't achieve in the studio recordings - the slow movement, and the Trio from the Scherzo, here more wistful than before. On the other hand, the late 90s live recording features a crisper Scherzo and more technically secure Finale with more dramatic minor-key outbursts.... Read more ›
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
