Mozart - The Complete Piano Concertos - Ashkenazy torrent

What a superb set this is, with the charm and delicacy of Mozart's sublime inspirations exquisitely realised by Ashkenazy, who conducts the performances from the keyboard. If you associate Ashkenazy with the firework displays of Rachmaninov, Chopin and some of the Beethoven sonatas, you should not be put off here: his consummate musicianship is everywhere evident, from the somewhat conventional early works right through to the later masterpieces. Not only is it the soloist's playing which is a constant source of delight: the orchestra, too, excels with playing of great refinement, especially so in Mozart's marvellous woodwind writing in the later concertos.

This really is a complete set, as not only do we get the two concert rondos, but also the double and triple piano concertos as well. In both of these Ashkenazy is joined by Barenboim, and, in the three-piano work, Fou Ts'ong. I found both performances intimate, enjoyable affairs, reminiscent, I believe, of what Mozart intended - without the 'slackness' identified in the original 'Penguin Stereo Record Guide' review, which also found 'both artists self-conscious'.

The recordings are excellent, with about half of them being digital. The piano is faithfully reproduced and orchestral detail refreshingly present. My only regret is that in No.17 the piano is inexplicably set further back than in the other recordings, and so some nimble fingerwork on Ashkenazy's part is lost beneath the orchestral tuttis, the problem being at its worst in the first movement. This, of course, is a matter of taste, and the 'Penguin Guide' says of this concerto in particular that the 'balance between soloist and orchestra [is] finely judged'. Oh well, you can't please everyone. This, however, being my only complaint about this set, I can warmly recommend it to any prospective listener.