The first of what promises to be several boxed sets encompassing Clifford Curzon’s Decca recordings mixes familiar fare, rarities, and two previously unreleased Mozart concertos with George Szell leading the Vienna Philharmonic. Why Curzon rejected the fruits of those December, 1964 Mozart K. 488 and K. 595 sessions for release is hard to fathom. More than in Curzon’s “approved” K. 488 recordings, the A major concerto’s outer movements take on the character of operas in miniature, thanks in part to Szell. The conductor elicits cogently pointed woodwind playing and brings out the bassoon counterline in the sublime slow movement as few conductors do (like Giulini with Vladimir Horowitz, for example). The B-flat K. 595 Concerto also benefits from scrupulous preparation, although I lean toward Curzon’s more ebullient account with Kertesz (another recording rejected by Curzon but ultimately released in Philips’ Great Pianists of the Century series).
Alan Rawsthorne’s Second Piano Concerto virtually disappeared since Curzon’s dashing, sensitively colored 1951 premiere recording, but happily this attractive score is at long last making a comeback. Too bad that Curzon’s lapidarian fingerwork throughout Falla’s Noches en los Jardines de España is thwarted by Enrique Jorda’s drab orchestral framework. That’s hardly the case concerning Szell’s alert, disciplined accompaniments for the pianist’s mono Beethoven “Emperor” and Tchaikovsky First–less aristocratically phrased but more dynamic and impulsive on the soloist’s part than in his stereo remakes. An awkward side join results in a noticeable drop in pitch at 4:56 during the Emperor’s first movement.
Curzon’s poetic, effervescent accounts of the Franck Variations Symphonique and Litolff Scherzo have long held forth as catalog favorites–and probably always will. Next to Schnabel’s bracing, forward moving Schubert D. 935 Impromptus Curzon’s contemporaneous readings, though cleaner in execution, are comparatively reticent and less punctuated than those of his one-time teacher. His 1964 recording of the D major sonata, however, digs deeper in terms of nuance and harmonic tension. Its reference status remains strong despite its lack of the important exposition repeat. Hardcore Curzon fans invariably will complain about having to duplicate material already out on CD in order to acquire the rare and unreleased stuff. Still, there’s plenty here to satisfy general collectors and connoisseurs, and Decca’s bargain price won’t break your wallet.
