Christian Zacharias, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausann - Mozart : Piano Concertos Vol 3 (2005) [SACD]

The partnership of veteran German pianist Christian Zacharias & the German audiophile label MDG has yielded some treasures, but this 1, part of a Mozart piano concerto series, is going to be hard to top. Recorded at the Salle Métropole concert hall in Lausanne, Switzerland, the discs in this series have inspired audiophiles to great flights of technical prose. The sound has warmth, depth, & awesome detail, & the music simply reveals no blemishes under its rays. The strings of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, of which Zacharias has been conductor since 2000, have the kind of sheen that comes only from a unit that has worked together over the long term. Zacharias has a way of making the listener seem privy to his thought processes at the keyboard; he is as smooth as the orchestra; without in any sense going off the rails, he can convey the way Mozart, once thought to be so decorous, can really shock at times: hear his entrance in the 2nd movement of the Piano Concerto #17 in G major, K.453, where a langorous C major opening suddenly gives way to a dramatic G minor suggesting inner turmoil. Best of all is the ensemble work between soloist & orchestra, with an incredible range of shadings in the relationship. In the way Zacharias, who conducts from the keyboard, weaves in & out of the texture, you can almost sense something of the silver liveliness Mozart himself must have had in performing his concertos. Although MDG has specialized in historical instrument recordings & has done impressive work in re-creating sonic contexts for historically informed performances, the instruments used here are modern ones — & the performances make a powerful case for the use of modern instruments. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of performances of these concertos available, but few can match these.
SA-CD.net review:
In this 3rd volume, Zacharias’ Mozart becomes essential, if not quintessential, in a universe for piano & concerto that is fascinating. The Concerto for Piano & Orchestra #17 in G major KV 453 dates from 1784, & inspired the musician Alfred Einstein to say: “In a friendly key are hidden many mysterious smiles & painful wounds – words cannot be found to describe the permanent irisation of feelings in the 1st movement, the passionate interiority of the 2nd.” The Concerto for Piano & Orchestra #19 in F major KV 459 was also composed in 1784 right after “the 4th of the 6 Quartets dedicated to Haydn”, states Mihel Parouty. Three days after finishing it on December 14, Mozart became a Freemason. Leading from the piano the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne to heights of subtlety, Christian Zacharias brings out a thousand colors from these eternal scores. With exemplary phrasing he opens the doors to a world that is often approached but rarely captured with such intelligence. It is true that Zacharias’ Mozart is rarely flamboyant, but he brings forth unique beauty that only the deaf cannot hear. He allows his musical discourse to breathe, a reminder of days when music had universal meaning. This is a Super Audio CD that eclipses all others.
~Jean-Jacques Millo