Mozart’s piano concertos were hardly as ubiquitous on disc as they are today when Edwin Fischer made his pioneering recordings for HMV in the 1930s. Fischer approaches Mozart through a Romantic sensibility, replete with melting secondary themes, Chopin-esque pedaling, and his own wildly anachronistic cadenzas. But his perpetually singing tone and immense musicality enrich every bar. Passagework always appears effortless and natural, as if it was being composed on the spot. The Allegro movements are taken faster than today’s norm, yet never sound rushed, and the Andantes move more briskly as well, phrased with maximum expression and minimum fuss. Interestingly, the works led from the keyboard by Fischer (the K. 453 and K. 466 concertos plus the Concert Rondo) sport more incisive and disciplined orchestral execution than Collingwood and Barbirolli’s rather slack support in the C minor (K. 491) and E-flat (K. 482) concertos respectively. While APR’s ongoing Fischer Mozart series utilizes prime source material for its superbly clear transfers, Pearl’s noisier restorations from commercial shellac pressings capture less inner detail. Yet there’s more bloom in the upper registers, and a feeling of air between the notes. Choosing between Pearl and APR ultimately boils down to your taste in transfers. Either way, both editions are superior to EMI’s heavily Cedar-ized Fischer transfers issued for the 1991 Mozart Bicentennial.
