Mozart : Concertos pour piano n° 25 & 20. Argerich, Abbado.

Piano International (Jul, 2014)
The Argerich/Abbado combination goes way back. There is a photo of the pair looking much younger on the back cover of this disc, and their first recordings together – late 1960s accounts of the Prokofiev Third and Ravel G major – remain classics of the catalogue. It is so rare to have conductor and soloist on absolutely the same wavelength, and when they are two great artists, as here, the result is magical. Inevitably, the disc also functions as a tribute to Claudio Abbado, who died in January.

These are concert performances from the Lucerne Easter Festival (March 2013), but the quality of ensemble is finer than on most studio recordings, …