Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romances - A.S.Mutter, Kurt Masur (2002)
1CD | EAC Rip | FLAC(tracks) + CUE + LOG | 64:04 | No Scans | 268 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Anne-Sophie Mutter%27s Beethoven Concerto was recorded live at the final subscription concerts of Kurt Masur%27s long tenure as the New York Philharmonic%27s music director. The beautifully played orchestral part is a tribute to his leadership. Mutter plays with a silken tone and astonishing technical command of her instrument--absolute ease in the stratospheric tessitura of the solo part, and an amazing array of microdynamic adjustments that display the infinite variety of pianissimos at her command. She continually varies phrasing, so moments of ethereal beauty are often followed by finicky lapses into mannerisms. For all her instrumental brilliance, the results are curiously unmoving. The depths of the music%27s emotions remain elusive, her virtuosity veering perilously close to showboating at times. Similar comments apply to the two Romances, whose verdant songfulness needs more lively tempos and straightforward playing. Mutter%27s fans will want this disc. Others may turn to Heifetz, Perlman, Suk, or Grumiaux.

Volodos: Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1, Rachmaninoff - Solo Piano Works (2003)
1CD | EAC Rip | APE(image) + CUE + LOG | 54:27 | No Scans | 191 MB
Genre: Classical | Label: Sony
This very fine Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto will come as a surprise to those who view Arcadi Volodos merely as a barn-storming virtuoso with few ideas and even less subtlety. His attack on the opening chords is big and bold, to be sure, but he never bangs, and once the first movement proper gets going he s noteworthy for the smoothness and flow that characterizes the first subject, and the very relaxed wistfulness with which he shapes the work s more reflective moments. In truth, Volodos and Ozawa have a tendency to let the tension sag a little in the movement s later stages, particularly just before the coda, but only very slightly.