MOZART. Piano Concertos—No. 24 in C minor, K491; No. 27 in B flat major, K595. Christian Zacharias (pf); North German Radio Sym- phony Orchestral Winter Wand. EMI digital C) EL270415-1; EL270415-4; CDC7 47432-2 (to be reviewed later).

K491—selected comparisons:

Brendel, ASMF, Marriner (8/75) 6500 533

ECO, Perahia (5/76) 76481

K595—selected comparisons:

Gilels, VPO, Bohm (11/74) (1/87) (R) 419 059-1GGA Brendel, ASM F, Marriner (4/75) (10/85) (R) 412 931-1PM

Zacharias is a skilful Mozartian, as I noted in my review of his performances of two other concertos, K482 and K488 (EM) EL270367- , 10/86), and his playing on this new issue, made a few months later is if anything even more persuasive and confident, with some lovely half tones as well as the necessary authority, and he is sympathetically partnered by Wand and the North German Radio orchestra. I do, however, wonder occasionally if an effort has been made a bit over-consciously to shed new interpretative light on the music. In K491, for example, the soloist's quiet first entry contrasts so markedly with the powerful initial orchestral statements that one almost feels that the conductor and soloist are seeking to suggest an 'Orpheus with the wild beasts' dialogue like that in the Andante con mow in Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. (Incidentally, Beethoven admired this work.) The effect, which occurs again at the start of the development, is sensitively handled and imaginative, but I am not wholly convinced. Brendel (Philips) offers much more momentum, although in turn his approach is rather unyielding: there is a happy medium here that neither of these two artists has chosen, though Perahia (CBS) finds it in his finely judged performance. Still, I have no such reservations about the other two movements, and this is a good account of this magnificent and disturbing concerto, and Zacharias's thoughtful cadenzas are of a piece with the overall approach.

He and Wand choose a leisurely approach to the Allegro first movement of K595: it did not worry me unduly at first, but later I felt it was a mistake. The Larghetto is expressive though again rather relaxed, but the finale dances along delightfully, though still with less spring than Brendelwho, however, sounds hasty in some of its rapid passagework. In this concerto, the Gilels/DG performance is in a class by itself, with a magisterial poise that is wholly classical. Overall Zacharias is attractive and stimulating, but perhaps too idiosyncratic to be a library first choice, as Gilels can be. The Hamburg studio recording has Zacharias well integrated with the other instrumentalists and is pleasing overall, though it is rather close and there is some clicking, possibly of woodwind keywork, in the major-mode variation in the finale of K491. Brendel is distinguished in both concertos, as are the ASMF under Marriner, but a little severe in K491: a safe choice otherwise, though with a trace of hiss in the cassettes to which I have been listening. C.H.

(see also "News & Views" on page 1094)