SWR has brought out Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s 1956 Ludwigsburg Festival Mozart K. 450 and 466 performances that ICA originally released back in 2013. Reviewing Michelangeli’s EMI 1950 studio recording of K. 450, I wrote how the pianist “subjects each phrase to finely-tuned gradations of touch and dynamic scaling, leaving not one note unscrutinized and unaccounted for.” That’s equally true here, albeit with faster tempos in the outer movements, plus additional vigor and continuity on the soloist’s part, and a better (if not particularly distinctive) orchestra.
Michelangeli’s astonishing command of the D minor concerto’s decorous figurations and strenuous left-hand broken octaves will keep most mortal pianists humble. If Michelangeli’s slow-movement dynamic taperings are decidedly “old-school” in the context of today’s leading Mozart practitioners (Perahia, Schiff, Bilson, Levin, etc.), at least they’re not so caricatured as in his 1989 DG recording. However, for those who want Michelangeli in K. 466, a live 1967 Stuttgart performance under Karl Münchinger released by Music & Arts offers the best blend of engineering, pianism, and orchestral support.
The slightly dry and drab-sounding SWR source tape seems to have been reproduced with relatively little intervention, in contrast to ICA’s boosted midrange and hint of added reverberation. Notwithstanding this release’s sonic and stylistic limitations, pianophiles will want to hear Michelangeli on prime form.
