I watched and listened to the video above this evening and enjoyed it. Everyone takes their gloves off and lays into Mozart, no namby pamby. I have to say I prefer my Mozart this way, generally. Friedrich Gulda is obviously a character (what’s with the hat?) but who cares? I like his style too, getting up off the bench and conducting the orchestra. What do you all think?
Gulda plays Mozart
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Classical Life 
Especially nice to see the orchestral musicians wearing casual, more comfortable clothing. I don’t understand this insistence on formal wear for players.
Oh, and I liked the performance, too.
This was a great way to start my morning. Thanks Tim!
Wonderful. I have an early CD by Gulda of the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas. I have never heard them played any better.
The hat is weird, though.
He made this, possibly the most “beethovenian” of Mozart concertos, even more so. This is certainly one valid way of playing mature Mozart and Gulda did it very well. As far as i know, he wore this type of hat (or sometimes a beret) for most of his performances since his 40s. Not sure why, but my guess is that maybe, being a fine jazz player himself, he did it in tribute to Thelonious Monk who always wore some kind of headgear at the piano.
My favorite Gulda thing is the way he did slow movements of Mozart Sonatas (for example, 545 that is available on youtube). While left hand plays absolutely straight rhythmical accompaniment, the right one seems to be free as a bird and indulges in a kind of rubato that is almost wild, but still manages to fit it all in with the properly polite left. This is probably the result of his skills in jazz where evenly measured and steady “walking” bass often serves as the carpet for the fanciful melodic flights of improvising pianist. A few other great classical pianists were able to perform this trick to some extent, but in my opinion nobody ever succeeded in this as daringly, yet as convincingly, as Gulda.
The D minor is my favorite Mozart piano concerto. It is so DARK!
Gulda’s version is very good, but I don’t know if it is the best I have heard.
Not my favorite recording though certainly worth watching (especially for the casual dress). I prefer a less pounded out, less metronomic rhythm and I like more nuance. On the other hand, I can understand other people’s preferences for something different. Gulda is not run-of-the-mill and that counts for something.
MM, I guess I would say this is one way to play it, but not the only way. Were I to hear this in concert, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring out the superlatives, though.
I can certainly understand that. Thanks for posting such an interesting performance!
I liked it! Good video, good orchestra, and I too, liked the more casual attire. Yeah, the hat’s a little strange, but I’m going with marK’s response to it.
Thanks for sharing it Tim.
I’m with you, Tim, I like his style and he’s wonderfully good on the piano. It seemed like a dress rehearsal – put it all out there.I like his hat but what’s with the watch? Probably a Patek. Thanks for sending.
Joe