This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
For years after this 1950 recording of Mozart's beloved C major Piano Concerto was released, every pianist whom Herbert von Karajan condescended to accompany was beaten with the same stick: "Sure, he's good, but he's no Dinu Lipatti!" But what else could one say? Not only did Karajan choose to accompany some of the lesser lights in the international virtuoso circuit, even if he'd bothered to accompany the crème de la crème, whoever it was, he'd be no Dinu Lipatti. Lipatti was, of course, one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, yet one whose reputation hangs on so short a career and so few recordings. Nevertheless, in his handful of recordings, Lipatti demonstrated he had it all -- a technique so
Read more
superlative that you never noticed it was there, a tone capable of infinite gradations of sound and inflection, and taste of such essential humanity and quintessential sublimity that Michelangeli seems vulgar by comparison. One of only four Lipatti concerto recordings -- the others are Grieg, Schumann, and Chopin's First -- this Mozart C major is at the same Olympian level as everything he did, with impeccable articulation, pellucid tone, and interpretation of transcendent compassion. Even Karajan, not yet the music director of Europe, is humble in the presence of Lipatti's playing, and he leads the ad hoc Lucerne Festival Orchestra in an accompaniment that's a model of tact.
Unfortunately but inevitably, it can fairly be said of Walter Gieseking that he is no Dinu Lipatti. Gifted with a lovely tone and an affecting interpretive style, Gieseking was often fumble fingered and heavy handed. Fortunately and surprisingly, it can also be said that his 1953 recording of Mozart's C minor Concerto, with its controlled technique and contained interpretation, is one of Gieseking's best performances and Karajan is likewise at his most congenial.
-- James Leonard, AllMusic.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Piano no 21 in C major, K 467 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Dinu Lipatti (Piano)
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1785; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 08/1950
Venue: Live Kunsthaus, Lucerne, Switzerland
2.
Concerto for Piano no 24 in C minor, K 491 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Walter Gieseking (Piano)
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Classical
Written: 1786; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 08/1953
Venue: Kingsway Hall, London, England
Sound Samples
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major K467 (1988 Digital Remaster): I. Allegro maestoso
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major K467 (1988 Digital Remaster): II. Andante
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major K467 (1988 Digital Remaster): III. Allegro vivace assai
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor K491 (1990 Digital Remaster): I. Allegro - Cadenza (Hummel) - Tempo I
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor K491 (1990 Digital Remaster): II. Larghetto
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor K491 (1990 Digital Remaster): III. Allegretto
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
