Mozart's Piano Concertos
K.491 and K.415W hen I asked Job Maarse in February what he had in mind for our first CD, he replied as follows: "Why not two Mozart concertos?". I was immediately enthusiastic, as I just happened to be - and still am - in a "Mozart" phase. But my next thought was: would it not be better to select something more unusual for a solo début CD? For instance, repertoire to really make people sit up and notice? After all, Mozart again, right after the intensely celebrated Mozart year? Although one cannot help but think this, these thoughts soon disappear when one considers the constant miracle of Mozart's music: it never becomes a drag, and even after having been doled out in the maximum daily "dose" for the past year, his compositions occupy an increasingly large place in our hearts. It is truly "eternal music", and recordings made in 100 years' time will still be exciting and justified, not just because there is a different person to interpret the music and different audiences to hear it. In that respect, I would like to express my special thanks to PentaTone for granting me the extraordinary freedom, from the start, of recording the repertoire that means most to me artistically at that moment. Why did I happen to choose precisely these two concertos, given the choice of the entire marvellous universe of Mozart concertos? Mozart's piano concertos are a part of every pianist's life, from a young age onwards, and the Piano Concerto in C, K.415 was the first piece that I was allowed to play with an orchestra as a child. I shall never forget the feeling of bliss, when the sound of my piano joined that of the orchestra to form such a miraculous entity. To this day, I still have a special love of making music together with others, each instrument complementing the other. Once again, the Piano Concerto in C minor, K.491 was the first of the "major" concertos to grab me at an early age, due to the tragedy and dark expressivity contained within. Both works form a tremendous contrast, which is immediately apparent when comparing the C-minor episode in the third movement of K.415 with the basic mood of K.491. The same key, yet two different worlds - the first is one of beauty, which communicates happiness despite all the sorrow, a naïve lament, which reminds one of Barbarina's "L'ho perduta... me meschina!" from Figaro; the second, full of despair, dark foreboding and tension, leaving behind a feeling of deep distress. While I was working on the C-minor concerto, there was a moment when I felt I was learning more about Mozart than I would have learned through reading a whole pile of books. My revered teacher Arie Vardi gave me a copy of the manuscript to study, and drew my attention to some peculiar caricatures of faces, which Mozart had drawn in the first movement between the notes. Upon closer observation, one can see that an attempt he made to draw a repeat sign probably failed, leaving it to look rather like a distorted face. So he made a game of it by also drawing these weird faces in similar places. In other words, in the most dark and moving music that one could ever imagine, he also included grimaces and pranks. A characteristic of Mozart, which leaves us feeling totally bewildered, and which we do not come across in such a fashion in any other composer. The cadenza for the first movement in K.491, which I play on this recording, was written by my good friend Lars Vogt. I heard him playing it once in a concert, and immediately felt that this expressed my own idea of a cadenza for this concerto more aptly than any of my own attempts. I would also like to thank Gordan Nikoli´c and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra for the delightful experience of the recording sessions, which were characterized by spontaneity, the pleasure of making music, and a shared love of Mozart.
Text: Martin Helmchen
English translation: Fiona J. Stroker-Gale
Recording information:
Recorded April 2007 at the Philharmonie, Haarlem, The Netherlands
Executive / Recording Producer: Job Maarse
Balance Engineer: Jean-Marie Geijsen
Editing : Matthijs Ruiter
The Steinway & Sons grand piano has been supplied by Ypma Piano's Alkmaar - Amsterdam