Mozart Piano Quartets
January 2021
Mozart is the chosen composer for this album by Christian Zacharias, born in 1950, a pianist praised for his charm, wiseness, accuracy and wit which makes him excel in the Classical style.
The New York Times has described his playing as “Apollonian… notable for it’s probing insights and carefully wrought details”. The CD compillation comprises the piano concertos Nos 5-27, the complete piano sonatas and a selection of chamber music. This complete release proes Zacharias as both magistral soloist of and a conscious partner to such rellevant instrumentalists as Sabine Meyer, Frank Peter Zimmermann or Tabea Zimmermann.
The performances are lovely. Christian Zacharias, plays these beautifully. Delicacy and subtlety are his trademarks.
The perfect symmetry he brings to the piano parts is admirable and some crítics compare it to the Walter Gieseking’s flawles Mozart playing. Great syncronisation between the pianist and his colleagues reveals a high level of sensitivity and mutual understanding. We can see it in the in the second-subject and development sections of the E-flat Quartet’s Allegro, when the interpreters pass the melodic line back and forth in a smooth and delicate way.
This release easily ranks within the best for Mozart’s Piano Quartets, stylish, tasteful playing and excellent sound.
– David Gutman
