Richard Pennycuick responding to Deryk Barker:

>>>not enjoying Nos.25 and 26 (the 'Coronation') as much.
>>
>>an opinion I've seen before from others in MCML.  I've never seen any
>>reason to regard them as inferior to the others.  What am I missing?

Number 26 ("Coronation") is the least highly regarded of all Mozart's
mature piano concertos.  It relies more on chains of brilliant connecting
material than any other of his concertos, and to many listeners is more
show than substance.  Personally, I enjoy it--particularly the slow
movement, which is in Mozart's fine late manner--but on the whole it's
not one of his most moving or profound pieces.  Charles Rosen has some
interesting things to say about it in The Classical Style, where he calls
it the best of early Romantic piano concertos.

Number 25 in C is a different matter altogether.  Musicologists regard it
very highly, many listeners less so.  It's more abstract, less warm than
most of Mozart's work; on the other hand, it has a breadth and grandeur
that he rarely surpassed.  It took me a little while to appreciate, but
I'm convinced it's one of his best.  If you're exploring the concertos,
you shouldn't miss it, if only to see a different side of Mozart.

As for good recordings of the concertos, I don't think anyone's mentioned
Casadesus/Szell, who did outstanding recordings of 21-24 and 26-27.  Too
bad they didn't do them all.

Peter Goldstein