|
Before intermission Marriner and the orchestra, along with pianist Lars Vogt, gave a superb performance of the C minor Concerto, K.491. It is performances such as this one that make it possible to believe that the Piano Concerto is the highest manifestation of Mozart's creativity. Here, the composer's boundless ingenuity in exploring standard forms is paired with writing that moves effortlessly and without hesitation through keys and themes. In the C minor Concerto, the woodwinds play a vital role, engaging the pianist in musical dialogue repeatedly throughout the three movements. (Busoni's remark about Mozart leaving no musical question unanswered springs to mind.) Vogt made it possible to forget the ugly tone of the Steinway he played by spinning out the music sometimes in a simple, direct manner, at other times with a more complicated expressivity. His control of dynamics and tone color created, particularly in the cadenza of the first movement, the illusion of a second orchestra. At times, Vogt's passagework was simply amazing, being very clear, atmospheric, and humorous at the same time. In this work, the playing of the woodwinds was very fine, and Marriner's conducting animated and sensitive.
Thomas Schultz
Originally written for and published by San Francisco Classical Voice
|
