Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 19 & 20

This recording documents one of the great musical partnerships of the century. George Szell's Mozart is one of the glories of the CD catalog, and in Rudolf Serkin he found a pianist who totally complemented Szell's unique combination of severe discipline and expressive intensity. Mozart's 20th piano concerto is one of only two in minor keys--it's his most purely dramatic orchestral composition, linked in spirit to his opera Don Giovanni. Szell and Serkin ensure that the theatrical character of Mozart's writing receives its full due. And although the Columbia Symphony isn't the miracle ensemble that Szell created in Cleveland, they play with total dedication to the cause. --David Hurwitz