Mozart Piano Concertos 20 & 21

Clifford Curzon for #20...Conductor is composer Benjamin Britten..
I've listened to most all of them, and it is my hands down favorite.
Under Britten's baton, the orchestra playing is equal to Curzon's sensitive piano playing.
Many times orchestra playing is an after-thought. The orchestra and soloist really perform together here; unlike many recordings where is sounds like they are just taking turns playing.

Get the budget 2-CD set that has 20, 23, 24, 26 & 27. They are all excellent, especially #20 and #27...

If you want a second opinion on these recordings, read this.

http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/otr/documents/02211015.htm

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I've always liked the Perahia recordings on Sony/CBS.

For 21, my favorite is Dinu Lippati on EMI. Sonics are pretty bad, but the performance is incandescent. If you insist on better sound, Annie Fishcer on Hungarton or EMI is almost as good and would be my recommendation for #20. The Hungarton is a better performance (bit better orchestral accompaniment too), but might be hard to find.

Thanks Sugarbrie for that great recommendation. I have at least 5 versions of #20, my favorite to date being Alfred Brendel, UNTIL I purchased the Curson. His playing and interpretation is really on a differnet plane than any of the others by a quite significant margin.