It was Abram Chasins‚ the American pianist and critic‚ who saw Solomon as part of a ‘gracious assemblage [he was thinking of Myra Hess and Clifford Curzon] that had long breathed the reposeful air of England.’ Less quaintly‚ he also noted a ‘proportionate grandeur that instead of seeming to lack power appeared not to desire it.’ Others have spoken of his ‘matchless austerity’ and a capacity to allow ‘all pianistic vanity to fall away’‚ and listening once more to his Mozart is to be reminded of the essential truth‚ the aptness and succinctness of such comments. Mozart may have felt that K450 is a concerto ‘to make the pianist sweat’‚ but it is difficult to imagine even a single bead of perspiration on Solomon’s brow as he tosses off cascades of notes with a superlative ease and elegance. In his hands the Andante’s set of variations comes as close to Elysium as you could wish‚ while the finale has a delectable lightness and magical rhythmic impetus that make it a true dance of the Gods. In K488‚ Solomon’s lucidity‚ in the canonic interplay starting at 4'20"‚ for example‚ is of a sort granted to very few pianists‚ and his refinement in the closing pages of the ineffable F sharp minor Adagio suggests all of his inimitable but lightly worn authority. In K491 he shares with Clara Haskil‚ another supremely prized Mozartian‚ a characteristic way of taking one of Mozart’s two minor­key concertos by stealth rather than by storm‚ though he compensates for what some may see as undue restraint by giving us Saint­Saëns’ storming cadenza. His poise may momentarily falter in his first entry (and in its repetition)‚ but the Larghetto is at once immaculate and sublime and the finale a reminder of an autumnal character that looks ahead to K595‚ Mozart’s last piano concerto‚ rather than to later‚ more overtly romantic or elemental outpourings. The 1953­55 recordings have been superbly remastered and his musical partners Otto Ackermann and Herbert Menges (always among Solomon’s favourite colleagues) are clearly inspired by their soloist’s quality.