Mendelssohn’s concertos for two pianos, which date from his prodigious teenage years, reveal the composer’s assured compositional technique, lacking only the originality and concision that later would be his. The subtle balances and rhetorical touches Begoña Uriarte and Karl-Hermann Mrongovius display in their expertly synchronized pianism seemingly emerge from a single entity, especially regarding their rubato in the slow movements. They blend well with Antoni Wit’s robust, sharply accented accompaniments, which provide a fuller-sized parallel to the scaled-down pungency I enjoy with the excellent RTE Sinfonietta on Naxos. The latter’s soloists, Benjamin Frith and Hugh Tinney, bring more dash and fire to both finales, though not to Gold and Fizdale’s effervescent degree under Ormandy. In all, the present performances are broader, slightly softer-grained, and more warmly engineered than those on Naxos, and restore Gold and Fizdale’s discreet (yet admittedly effective) cuts in the scores. A lovely disc.
