I'm planning to pick up my first complete set of Mozart piano concertos, and the choice seems to boil to either Gardiner conducting the English Baroque Soloists with Malcolm Bilson on fortepiano or a modern instruments instrument recording of the English Chamber Orchestra with Murray Perahia on piano.
Both boxes are comparably priced (+/-$50) and get glowing reviews in most places I've checked. The Bilson box includes the concertos for 2 and 3 pianos; the Perahia box includes two rondos but none of the multipiano concertos. I like period instrument performances of late 18th century music quite a bit -- I have the Pinnock versions of Haydn's "Sturm und Drang" and Mozart's symphonies. The presence of the multipiano concertos is an additional plus -- I'm less interested in the rondos. OTOH I'm wary of the fortepiano, don't have a bias against tasteful modern instrument recordings (ie smaller ensembles, orchestration that isn't overly lush, avoidance of romantic mannerisms), and am not interested in a "radical" or weird-sounding HIP performance.
Recommendations?
Guy