Search - Beethoven, Uchida, Sanderling :: Piano Concertos 1 & 2

Mitsuko Uchida and Beethoven: The Perfect Marriage

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gifted pianist Mitsuko Uchida is one of the reigning masters of the repertoire of Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven (though she is a marvel in works by 20th Century composers also) and her thorough involvement with the Piano Concerti of Beethoven is best appreciated when the opportunity arises to hear the entire cycle performed over a period of several nights, or in this case, in a series of CDs that capture all the concerti.



This recording of the B-flat major concerto (which because of its revision in 1801 of the original 1795 composition is traditionally called No.2) and the C major concerto of 1798 (known as the No. 1) is a fine pairing. Both of these early concerti have moments of flight that suit Uchida's extraordinary technical skills and each contains a middle slow movement that focuses on Uchida's sensitivity to lingering, heartfelt and elegantly warm phrasing. Her involvement in the Largo of the C major concerto is otherworldly and meltingly liquid. Likewise her keyboard singing of the Adagio from the B-flat major concerto is as quiet and longing as a line can be.



Uchida's communication with the orchestra, here under the direction of Kurt Sanderling, is unique. She is currently performing the concerto cycle in its entirety with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen in the acoustically perfect Disney Hall and one can only hope that she will record the miracles that are happening in this collaboration. Watching her involvement with each section of the orchestra as she awaits her entrances reinforces the quality of conversation that is unsurpassed among current contemporaries. Until that possible recording cycle is made, this CD is a fine substitute. Uchida is magic and her devotion to these Beethoven works is stunning. Grady Harp, January 2005"