Howard Shelley's series of Mozart concerto performances is of a consistently high standard. Reviewing earlier issues, I have written of his clarity and stylishness, good judgement of tempos and textures and the kind of gracefulness that avoids preciosity. These qualities are again in evidence here, and collectors already acquiring these discs may confidently go ahead. Indeed, this newcomer proves competitive, in an area of repertory that is well served, in that this coupling of two concertos with C as their tonic is not common. My top recommendation remains the impeccably tasteful Murray Perahia, but his single CBS disc with the C major has the less interesting coupling of No. 6 in B flat (1776), although those seeking Nos. 14 and 24 together will enjoy his performances for the same company issued in 1976.
However, Howard Shelley is also masterly—though perhaps 'wholly persuasive' is apter praise. Somehow he manages to make everything natural and unselfconscious without the playing becoming routine, and everything flows with strength as well as charm. The first-movement cadenzas do remind us that he plays a modern grand, but only briefly and occasionally, as at the start of that in the first movement of the C major and later in that of the C minor, did I wonder if their sound was a little out of scale. Slow movements are richly textured but not sugary: there is beautiful moulding here, and that of the C major has a fine simplicity. The tensely dramatic C minor work is also movingly shaped. As for the finales, that of the major-mode work dances and that of its darker companion has impressive purpose. Indeed, the performance has distinction all round, not least in the wind playing. The recording is excellent.'