MOZART: Piano Concertos No. 20 K. 466 & No. 27 K. 595; Clifford Curzon (piano) / Benjamin Britten /English Chamber Orchestra – Esoteric stereo-only SACD ESSD-90014, 65:18 Performance ****1/2; Sound ****1/2:
Mozart wrote his twentieth piano concerto in 1785 and gave the première performance himself. It seems there was not much time or opportunity for rehearsal with the orchestra, as the parts were still being copied just before the performance. Unusually this is in a minor key, the dark key of D minor, the key of the Requiem and Don Giovanni.
Piano Concerto No. 27 was first performed in March, 1791 possibly with Mozart at the keyboard, and it is thought it was his last public performance before his final illness six months later and his death on 5 December, 1791.
Although these concertos were recorded in 1970, the recordings were not issued until 1978 on Decca SXL7007. The sessions at The Maltings, Snape had gone very well, business having begun with the 20th concerto. There is a slight feeling of Curzon being ill at ease in this work, though Britten’s accompaniment is at one with his. The two had performed together for some years, Curzon appearing at the Aldeburgh Festival. Curzon’s take on the last movement is a little breathless, but the concerto comes across with much atmosphere and character from pianist and conductor.
The D minor concerto recording was completed on the first day of the sessions, on 24 September, and a full performance of No. 27 was also in the can before the day’s end. On the following day, that concerto’s recording was completed as sections were tidied up. This performance seems altogether more successful and spontaneous, Curzon’s playing in the slow movement in particular quite sublime, at least to these ears, and comparable with his teacher Schnabel’s.
Editing of the recordings was completed quite soon afterwards. However, in the mean time, Curzon had decided the recording already did not reflect his current thouhgts on the last concerto, and the release was put on hold, released only when Curzon was promised another stab at the work. Ill-health intervened and those sessions never took place.
These Curzon/Britten recordings are much loved despite the minor shortcomings; in any case, the shortcomings are outweighed convincingly by the musicianship of all concerned.
Esoteric has remastered the original tapes via DSD to a hybrid stereo SACD, and Motoaki Ohmachi, the chief producer, and President of Esoteric, has endeavoured to capture the master tapes’ quality. Esoteric’s flagship D/A converters, model D-01VU, Rubidium master clock generator model G-0Rb and Esoteric Mexcel cables, were all used.
The sound on the SACD is terrific, unsurprising with Kenneth Wilkinson at the helm at the sessions, and is a substantial improvement over the standard CDs issued by Decca. There is not even a hint of digitis, and the depth to the sound stage and it sharp picture are evidence of the value of the project.
Presentation is luxurious, the disc held in a hardback book, the notes in Japanese supplemented in this case by an account in English of the sessions by Ray Minshull, their producer. Even at their more-than-premium prices these Esoteric SACDs are well worth considering, especially if you would like one of your favourite recordings in its best possible sound. A superb issue.
— Peter Joelson
[Esoteric SACDs are available to order from Esoteric dealers worldwide, and in Japanese record shops, and an enquiry through Teac’s websites, teac.com or teac.co.uk should provide the whereabouts of the nearest source. UK stockists include Jack Lawson of audiosalon.co.uk, and Nigel Crump of symmetry-systems.co.uk; UK prices are around £30.]
