Christian Zacharias

Mozart, who composed 21 piano concerti, can be regarded as the “inventor” of the popular piano concerto. Although J.S. Bach and his son had written numerous concerti for harpsichord or fortepiano and orchestra before him, Mozart’s enormous input to the genre is mostly due to his concerti being regarded as ‘popular music’ by his contemporaries: to be enjoyed and quickly replaced by newer works. For this series on four DVDs, the most influential, the most artistically challenging and the most popular piano concerti have been selected to be performed by the best Mozart interpreters of our time. Volume III features pianists Radu Lupu, Christian Zacharias and Ivan Klánský performing Mozart’s piano concerti Nos. 6. 19 and 20 in highly attractive venues – at the Rococo Schwetzingen Palace in the Southwest of Germany, the reconstructed Sophiensaal in Munich and the Rittersaal of Palais Waldstein in Prague.

Mozart, who composed 21 piano concerti, can be regarded as the “inventor” of the popular piano concerto. Although J.S. Bach and his son had written numerous concerti for harpsichord or fortepiano and orchestra before him, Mozart’s enormous input to the genre is mostly due to his concerti being regarded as ‘popular music’ by his contemporaries: to be enjoyed and replaced quickly by newer works. For this series on four DVDs, the most influential, the most artistically challenging and the most popular piano concerti have been selected to be performed by the best Mozart interpreters of our time. The last volume features pianists Christian Zacharias, Malcolm Frager, Deszö Ránki and Aleksandar Madzar performing the piano concerti Nos. 5, 8, 17 & 27. The performances on this DVD were shot in highly attractive historical venues – at the Teatro Scientifico del Bibiena in Mantua, in the 18th century Schwetzingen Palace and in the Grosse Galerie at Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna – capturing the atmosphere of Mozart’s lifetime.

This disc is part of a Mozart concerto cycle being issued by German pianist Christian Zacharias, conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne. Several of the discs have been exceptional, and the musicianship here maintains the high level of the earlier releases in the series. The interpretations, however, are a bit unorthodox, so sample well and consider. The audiophile sound from the MDG label continues to be an attraction in itself; the sonics of Lausanne's moderate-sized and heavily acoustically tweaked Salle Métropole concert hall have awesome clarity and depth.

Midem Classique Award winner Christian Zacharias continues his survey of Mozart Piano Concertos as both performer & conductor. Featuring arguably 1 of the most famous, the A Major. MDG’s complete recording of Mozart’s piano compositions with Christian Zacharias in the double role as pianist & conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra continues with KV 488, certainly the most-performed piano concerto by the great Salzburg composer, complemented here by KV 246 & KV 175, Mozart’s very 1st piano concerto.

Not just because this disk is the only 1 in the series without a review on this site, but also because it concerns a re-issue in SACD format, I thought it might be useful to share my views with the Super Audio community. To start with the end: My verdict is a wholehearted positive 1 in both artistic & technical sense.

This volume in the series seems to have taken a step up, with playing which previously might have been a little cosy now edgier & with more contrast in light & shade. The overall ensemble is excellent, & these are very good Mozart concerto interpretations indeed. Sound quality is up to MDG’s usual high standard, with a well-scaled ambience in Mch, & the 2+2+2 channel setup with height channels works fine in my 5.1 setup, despite my not reassigning the centre & sub speaker.

Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 2 C Major Op. 61 / Symphony No. 4 D Minor Op. 120
Christian Zacharias - Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,62 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 863 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 940 1745-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

"…Producer and recording engineer Werner Dabringhaus does excellent work in the Métropole of Lausanne. Since the CD cover notes this as Volume 1, we can expect the First and Third Symphonies to follow. That should be worth waiting for. I hope Zacharias and his band will be given further assignments; this SACD speaks well to the partnership." ~audiophile-audition

Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 2 C Major Op. 61 / Symphony No. 4 D Minor Op. 120
Christian Zacharias - Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 276 MB | Full Artwork: 89 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 940 1745-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2012
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

"…Producer and recording engineer Werner Dabringhaus does excellent work in the Métropole of Lausanne. Since the CD cover notes this as Volume 1, we can expect the First and Third Symphonies to follow. That should be worth waiting for. I hope Zacharias and his band will be given further assignments; this SACD speaks well to the partnership." ~audiophile-audition

Antonin Dvorak - Piano Quintet op. 81 & String Quintet op. 97
Leipziger Streichquartett & Christian Zacharias
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 302 MB | Full Artwork: 120 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG "Gold" # 307 1249-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2004
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Quintet

"…MDG provides typically fine sonics, with the strings well balanced against a piano that turns a bit glassy in its upper register at higher dynamic levels. The real question is whether or not, with such fine versions already available from various Czech groups on Supraphon (Panocha Quartet) and Praga (Klánský/Prazák Quartet), you will want to spend premium price to acquire this newcomer, even if the coupling of these two particular works is somewhat unique. This is a decision you must make for yourself; if you ultimately opt to go for it, you won’t be sorry." ~classicstoday