Stuart Sinclair wrote:

>Hi all.  I am interested in purchasing a set of the Mozart Piano concertos.
>However I cannot make up my mind whether to go with the period instrument
>style or the modern..

You could try both!  It doesn't have to be either/or, and many people do
listen to both performance styles.

>From hearing the Forte piano on CD`s it has a slightly thinner tone.  I
>am mindful of the fact that there were no Steinway`s, Bosendorfer`s etc
>in Mozart`s day so i guess that what one should go for is a recording
>with period instruments.  I`d be interested in your thoughts.

It is true that a fortepiano has a "thinner", less imposing sound than a
modern grand.  However, sometimes this pays off in more clarity, especially
in the bass (left hand) notes.  Much of Mozart's left hand writing can
sound muddy on the modern grand piano, but that's not a universal
thing--I'd say it depends much on the player as well.

There are lots of Mozart cycles on modern instruments (Perahia, Uchida,
Brendel etc.) and I'll let others comment on those.  For period instruments
and fortepianos, you've got Bilson with Gardiner, or van Immerseel with the
Anima Eterna, or the series in progress of Levin with Hogwood.  The Levins
have the advantage of incorporating more improvisation in the cadenzas and
such, which would have been the expected practice in Mozart's day much more
than is the case now.

Bill H.