MOZART. Piano Concertos—No. 25 in C major, * K503; No. 26 in D major, K537, "Coronation".

Christian Zacharias (pf); Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / David Zinman. EMI

C® CDC7 49226-2 (64 minutes).

Comparative CD version—coupled as above:

Philh, Ashkenazy (4/86) 411 810-2DH

K537—selected CD comparison:

ECO, Perahia (11/85) M K39224

K503—selected CD comparison:

ECO, Perahia (4/86) (R) MK37267

I have had occasion in the past to praise Christian Zacharias in his current EMI series of Mozart concertos, and the present one continues to show him in a good light as a thoughtful artist in this repertory. If his playing of the C major Concerto seems a little bland compared to his account of say, the C minor, K49 I ((D CDC7 47432-2, 6/87), this is doubtless merely a reflection of the music itself, which manages to have elements of grandeur without being obviously and consciously dramatic. I do wonder, however, whether the recording is rather too rich and reverberant for this music, though in itself the sound is agreeable.

As at times elsewhere, the soloist provides cadenzas of his own that can seem appropriate both in style and length—in his own attractively frank note he tells us that he "found inspiration through playing around with bits of themes and flourishes" for that of K503. Beyond these, the question of melodic embellishments is posed and answered in the Larghetto of the Coronation Concerto, where the conductor's suggestions "now ennoble bars 49 and 53". More controversial (the understatement of the month?) is Zacharias's employment for "a necessary surprise" in the cadenza of K537 of the dubious resources of what he calls "a new-fangled [neuartiges] Japanese synthesizer toy that now interrupts the flow of the pianist in a way that is reminiscent of a Mozartian musical box". If a Japanese artist such as Mitsuko Uchida had done this, there might have been an outcry. That's not needed, but I have strong doubts to say the least: the effect is not exactly unmusical but could hardly be less authentic and indeed seems a gimmick—but listen from the 13' 08" point in the movement to make your judgement about this. For this particular coupling on CD, few collectors will be disappointed with the choice of Vladimir Ashkenazy on Decca: Perahia fans will prefer his performances for CBS of these two works, but need to acquire two separate CDs to have them. C.H.