Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 17 & 27

Albumbeschreibung

Continuing her acclaimed series on Hyperion of the piano concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the extraordinary Angela Hewitt takes two jumps forward from the youthful works she covered on the first volume, playing the fully mature Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major and the final work in the series, the Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major. For these 2011 performances, Hewitt used a modern piano, and she is accompanied by the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova, which ostensibly plays all modern instruments, so this is not an attempt to re-create the exact style of Mozart’s day. Even so, Hewitt and the ensemble play cleanly and elegantly, with a fine balance of modern techniques with period sensibility. Hewitt’s touch is crisp but even, and she avoids the pedals, which gives the piano a light sound comparable to what Mozart would have wanted, but without the clangorous sound of a more historically accurate fortepiano. Similarly, the orchestra emulates the scale, textures, and colors of a Classical ensemble without authentic instrumentation. Instead, Hewitt’s exquisite taste and Hannu Lintu’s historically informed conducting making this second volume a delight to hear. Hyperion’s reproduction is sensitive and responsive, so the recording is fully audible, well-balanced, and fresh.

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