W.A. Mozart Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 14-16

Barenboim recorded a perfectly fine cycle of Mozart piano concertos for EMI with the English Chamber Orchestra. He's now doing them all over again for Teldec with the Berlin Philharmonic, and one can only ask: Why? It's not that there's anything particularly wrong with these sensible performances; it's just that there is no particular reason why he had to do them all over again. This is particularly pressing when you consider that you can get the same works at budget price on Naxos in equally fine performances, or even Barenboim's own earlier cycle in a budget-priced box. The simple fact is that Barenboim has never had much of a reputation as a Mozart pianist (his Beethoven is another story altogether), so at full price, there's little reason to splurge on this disc. --David Hurwitz