"the GULDA MOZART tapes"
Posted by: graham55 on 27 March 2006
I ordered this 3CD set a couple of weeks ago, it turned up over the weekend, and I have to say that I'm completely bowled over by it. This is unlike any Mozart solo piano playing that I've ever heard of ten of the sonatas and the Fantasie K475.
It is an unbelievably muscular, powerful Mozart, recorded up close on a Boesendorfer, completely different to Mitsuko Uchida (who has been my guiding star till now) in technique and recording. Recorded by Gulda and a producer in an hotel that he frequented out of season in the Winter of 1980, and surviving Gulda's and the producer's death only in the form of cassette copies of the tapes. And yet DG have now remastered and issued these truly remarkable performances.
I can see purists hating the set.
Graham
It is an unbelievably muscular, powerful Mozart, recorded up close on a Boesendorfer, completely different to Mitsuko Uchida (who has been my guiding star till now) in technique and recording. Recorded by Gulda and a producer in an hotel that he frequented out of season in the Winter of 1980, and surviving Gulda's and the producer's death only in the form of cassette copies of the tapes. And yet DG have now remastered and issued these truly remarkable performances.
I can see purists hating the set.
Graham
Posted on: 27 March 2006 by Oldnslow
Do the notes say if Gulda recorded the Mozart sonatas naked? Any photos? This guy was a hoot. Also a helluva pianist. Too bad he wasted his time playing jazz. I have yet to see one classical musician successfully cross over with any originality into the jazz field. Gulda sounded like watered down Chick Corea, who was watered down.......
Posted on: 27 March 2006 by Todd A
Thanks for the post, Graham. This set has been on my must-buy list since I noticed it in January. I'm hoping it comes to the States, otherwise I'll have to import it. No biggie, as I love Gulda's playing and really want to hear his take on Mozart's sonatas. (His recording of two of the concertos with Harnoncourt are superb.)
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Posted on: 28 March 2006 by graham55
The notes say nothing about Gulda's sartorial condition while recording.
Todd, I ordered my copy from Germany. I don't think that it's been released in the UK yet.
Graham
Todd, I ordered my copy from Germany. I don't think that it's been released in the UK yet.
Graham
Posted on: 28 March 2006 by Oldnslow
Graham/Todd--what German site has the Gulda Mozart? After hearing his set of the Beethoven sonatas I would be interested in ordering the Mozart too.
Posted on: 28 March 2006 by Todd A
JPC has it. It's also out in Japan, but shipping costs more.
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Posted on: 29 March 2006 by graham55
I got mine from www.amazon.de.
Graham
Graham
Posted on: 29 March 2006 by Oldnslow
Thanks. I ordered mine from Amazon.de. First time I have ordered from German Amazon site. These recordings might well not be issued in the States. Gulda is hardly a big draw over here, except among us few diehards. Todd, I agree his Mozart concertos with Harnoncourt are fantastic, and his later Beethoven sonata set is just wonderful.
Posted on: 29 March 2006 by graham55
Oldnslow
I hope that you won't be disappointed, but let us know in due course. I've played little else over the past few days and still find the discs totally uplifting.
I have just ordered a DG Eloquence 12 CD set comprising Gulda's later Amadeo Beethoven sonata set plus his Decca VPO concertos off Amazon.de for just over €26, including postage. The world has truly gone mad.
Graham
I hope that you won't be disappointed, but let us know in due course. I've played little else over the past few days and still find the discs totally uplifting.
I have just ordered a DG Eloquence 12 CD set comprising Gulda's later Amadeo Beethoven sonata set plus his Decca VPO concertos off Amazon.de for just over €26, including postage. The world has truly gone mad.
Graham
Posted on: 29 March 2006 by Oldnslow
The later Gulda Beethoven Sonata set I have is the recent Brilliant reissue of the Amadeo recordings--I assume the one you ordered is the same. Just fantastic. I am becoming a Beethoven sonata nut of late, even though I have listened to them all my life. I now have complete sets by Kempff (mono and stereo), Annie Fischer, Gulda, most of the Stephen Kovachich(sp!) and I just ordered Robert Silverman set! And, of course, I have lots of individual recordings by various artists. I even bought a set of DVD LECTURES(!) from The Teaching Company devoted solely to the Beethoven Piano Sonatas (I have several of their lecture series on art, but they also have lots on music). I'm fast becoming a Beethoven sonata nutter, as you Brits might say.....
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by Oldnslow
Spent the weekend listening to Gulda's Mozart sonatas. In a word, they are mesmerizing, and very unlike any other interpretations I can recall. I would describe the playing as Mozart played like Beethoven---completely different from the sometimes precious, salon-like performances of these pieces one normally hears. Even in the earlier sonatas, the sense of drama and aggression is readily apparant, brought off with Gulda's amazing technical clarity and dyanmic contrasts. No doubt this is helped by the extreme close up of the recording--not unlike his Amadeo Beethoven sonatas.
A word about the recording quality. These are from cassette tapes made in a hotel on a Boesendorfer(the original tapes have been lost). The sound in general is very good but variable, and there are occasional pitch problems. A couple of the sonatas even sound like they were played on an upright! And you know what? It doesn't matter at all, as the playing completely overcomes any shortcomings in the sound. Let's just be happy with what we have when the playing is this good. It is a shame, however, that the K.310 A Minor, perhaps Mozart;s greatest sonata, was not deemed technically worthy of release. K.331 is also missing.
This set is now available on ArKivMusic for those in the U.S. I strongly urge anyone interested in the Mozart sonatas to hear this fascinating set. It is clear the classical world lost a great artist when Gulda "retired" to jazz and other pursuits for the last 20 years of his life.
A word about the recording quality. These are from cassette tapes made in a hotel on a Boesendorfer(the original tapes have been lost). The sound in general is very good but variable, and there are occasional pitch problems. A couple of the sonatas even sound like they were played on an upright! And you know what? It doesn't matter at all, as the playing completely overcomes any shortcomings in the sound. Let's just be happy with what we have when the playing is this good. It is a shame, however, that the K.310 A Minor, perhaps Mozart;s greatest sonata, was not deemed technically worthy of release. K.331 is also missing.
This set is now available on ArKivMusic for those in the U.S. I strongly urge anyone interested in the Mozart sonatas to hear this fascinating set. It is clear the classical world lost a great artist when Gulda "retired" to jazz and other pursuits for the last 20 years of his life.
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by graham55
Oldnslow (that can't really be your name!)
I'm so pleased that you have obviously found them as remarkable as I did. I agree with your description of the playing as "mesmerizing". I played them hour after hour when I first got them, and was beginning to think that I'd got things rather out of perspective when I found Uchida pallid by comparison.
My 12CD DG Eloquence box of Gulda's Amadeo 1967 Beethoven sonata recordings and his Decca 1971-73 Beethoven concertos with Stein/VPO turned up from Germany over the week-end. Similarly great, for just over £18 inc postage.
Graham
I'm so pleased that you have obviously found them as remarkable as I did. I agree with your description of the playing as "mesmerizing". I played them hour after hour when I first got them, and was beginning to think that I'd got things rather out of perspective when I found Uchida pallid by comparison.
My 12CD DG Eloquence box of Gulda's Amadeo 1967 Beethoven sonata recordings and his Decca 1971-73 Beethoven concertos with Stein/VPO turned up from Germany over the week-end. Similarly great, for just over £18 inc postage.
Graham
Posted on: 10 April 2006 by Oldnslow
Graham--yes, I couldn't stop playing them either. Just intense music making. It's just a shame we don't have other composers by Gulda--I would think Schumann would have been a natural, for instance, or Schubert for sure.
No, I'm not named Oldnslow....hehehe. I like to drive and race my vintage Porsche 911 and I thought the moniker would be different. I'd have gotten Oldnslow as a personalized license plate but it was already taken by a friend. How'd you like to be overtaken by Oldnslow?
No, I'm not named Oldnslow....hehehe. I like to drive and race my vintage Porsche 911 and I thought the moniker would be different. I'd have gotten Oldnslow as a personalized license plate but it was already taken by a friend. How'd you like to be overtaken by Oldnslow?