Mozart: Double Concerto; Piano Concerto No. 27; Sonata for 2 Pianos

The posthumous reputation of Clifford Curzon rests on regrettably few studio recordings, testimony to an absolute perfectionism when it came to committing his thoughts for the future. So the present disc is a valuable addition to his legacy. Few of Curzon's contemporaries approached his understanding of Mozart as did Benjamin Britten, and although this Aldeburgh Festival account of the Two-Piano Sonata starts brusquely, the dovetailing of responses in the andante and finale are what live music making is all about. Admittedly the Two-Piano Concerto fares less well. Curzon and Barenboim sound slightly tentative in their interplay, as though more time were needed to really make the conception gel, although an unseasonably bronchial Royal Albert Hall audience can't have helped. What makes this disc indispensable is the artless account of Mozart's final Piano Concerto. Curzon attempts on the work in the studio always left him dissatisfied: hearing this humane and wise account, inspiration truly caught on the wing, you can appreciate why. Barenboim and the ECO accompany discreetly yet thoughtfully: quite simply, you won't hear better. --Richard Whitehouse