"Although Istomin's approach to these towering works may not please all tastes, they leave no doubt that he is a thoughtful and probing musician. Less controversial of the two readings is this superb K.491. Whereas some performers opt for conveying either the music's Sturm und Drang intensity or its otherworldly, eerie gloom exclusively, Istomin manages to suggest both without compromising the work's integrity. He displays welcome rhythmic subtlety, inflecting, for example, the piano's initial entrance with just enough rubato to heighten the significance of a motif that becomes central to the movement's development. Similarly, he favors dynamic inflection of scales, thereby increasing their expressivity, an expressivity made all the more compelling by his evenness and clarity of articulation. Yet he also recognizes the limitations of the keyboard instruments of Mozart's day by restricting dynamic range, a practice most notable in the march-like variation of the finale, where some pianists tend to play too forcefully.
Adding to the virtues of the whole is the sharply focused interplay between piano and winds, which serves to italicize the solo-tutti conflict that generates drama in Classical-concerto style. And the Seattle winds play with world-class virtuosity. Having a slow movement free of sentimentality and a finale that benefits from a steady pace from one variation to another, this is a performance to reckon with."
- Mortimer H. Frank, Wes Phillips - stereophile.com
Musicians:
Conductor – Gerard Schwarz
Orchestra – The Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Piano – Eugene Istomin
