A kind of back-row concert hall realism transpires in these live recordings from the Barbican Center, with their slightly distant, boomy orchestra/soloist perspective. Perhaps this helps create an impression that the performances are better than they sound. Be that as it may, Evgeny Kissin and Colin Davis turn in a thoroughly solid and well-played Mozart C minor concerto. It falls just short of the thrust, drama, and vivid detail that are so impressive in versions by Brendel/Mackerras and Moravec/Marriner. Though not particularly adventurous or creative, Kissin’s outer-movement cadenzas are stylistically plausible.
Davis’ rounded, carefully balanced orchestral framework for the Schumann Concerto comes as no surprise, even minus the sonic bloom of his previous two recordings (Arrau/Boston Symphony, Perahia/Bavarian Radio Orchestra). Kissin’s fluid, poetic conception has changed little since his youthful traversal under Giulini and the Vienna Philharmonic, save for details that have grown more arch over time. The latter include attention-getting diminuendos where none are written, plus unaccompanied sections in the first movement where the pianist lingers past curfew and pulls the phrases out of shape. All told, this is a fine if inauspicious label debut for Kissin. [10/31/2007]
