On Testament, Paul Bailey’s transfer of Edwin Fischer’s 1947 Mozart K. 503 concerto contains a higher degree of surface noise than APR’s quieter remastering, yet with more brightness and bloom to the sonic picture. If you already own the APR transfer (Edwin Fischer: The Mozart Piano Concerto Recordings Volume 3), there’s no need to replace it. Not unless you also want the best-sounding version of Fischer’s 1954 Mozart D minor concerto. Here Fischer’s fingerwork lacks the power and thrust of his bolder pre-war edition, yet his otherwordly tone and vocally-informed phrasing are not of this good earth. The Philharmonia’s principal winds match their conductor/pianist’s sensitivity note for note, and Fischer supplies his own, slightly naïve cadenzas in the outer movements. Technically speaking K. 503 finds Fischer in more secure and relaxed fettle, aided by Josef Krips’ solid, genial support. For an encore, Testament unearths a previously unpublished Fischer gem: the pianist’s arrangement of Emanuel Förster’s charming Ariette Variée.
