Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 17 (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet) Alon Goldstein & Fine Arts Quartet

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 "Jenamy" (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet):
• 1 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 "Jenamy" (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet): I. Allegro 10:34
• 2 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 "Jenamy" (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet): II. Andantino 11:35
• 3 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 "Jenamy" (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet): III. Rondeau. Presto 10:46
• Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453 (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet):
• 4 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453 (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet): I. Allegro 11:51
• 5 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453 (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet): II. Andante 11:13
• 6 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453 (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet): III. Allegretto 07:41
• Total Runtime 01:03:40

Info for Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 17 (Arr. I. Lachner for Piano & String Quintet)

Mozart himself had arranged four of his earlier concertos for the ensemble of piano, string quartet and bass, to enable his works to be performed domestically. Numerous subsequent transcriptions followed during the course of the 19th century, prominently those of the conductor and composer Ignaz Lachner. The concertos here are K.271 ‘Jeunehomme’, a particularly brilliant work, and the charming K.453. Leaving the piano part untouched, Lachner ingeniously incorporates all the orchestral music, including wind parts, into his string transcriptions.

"The third instalment of the transcriptions of Mozart’s Piano Concertos made by Ignaz Lachner and here performed by Alon Goldstein and the Fine Arts Quartet.

Mozart had already made such arrangements that allowed his concertos to be heard where no orchestra was locally available, Lachner adding to the weight of accompaniment by adding a part for double-bass. He began his re-creative assignment by using an untouched piano part which made Lachner’s task all the more problematic, as by the time Mozart was composing these scores in 1777 and 1784, the orchestral parts included much for the woodwind, often in the passages that introduce movements. Converting those for strings can change the character of the music. This I find particularly inherent in the rustic qualities of the Seventeeth, where I miss the role of the woodwind and particularly the bassoon. Yet, if I had never heard or participated in the original scores, I guess I would be greatly enjoying these as Piano Quintets, Alon Goldstein’s nimble fingers propelling the finale of the Ninth with a gay abandon. The cadenzas in both concertos are Mozart’s original ones, and I much enjoyed Goldstein’s loving approach to the opening Allegro of the Seventeenth. Both works in this format are receiving their World Premiere Recordings." (David’s Review Corner)

Alon Goldstein, piano
Fine Arts Quartet
Ralph Evans, violin I
Efim Boico, violin II
Gil Sharon, viola
Niklas Schmidt, cello
Alexander Bickard, double bass