Mozart Complete Piano Concertos

The French pianist, Michel (Jean Jacques) Dalberto, was born into non-musical family, but he began playing the piano before his 4th birthday. At age 12 he was studying with Vlado Perlemuter (piano) Jean Hubeau (chamber music) at the Paris Conservatoire. He later studied with Raymond Trourard. In 1975 he won the Clara Haskil Competition and the Salzburg Mozart Competition, and in 1978 he captured the 1st prize at the Leeds Competition, where he played a W.A. Mozart's Piano Concerto (No. 25 K. 503) in the final round, the only first-prize winner ever to do so.

Arthur Schoonderwoerd, one of today's most sought-after interpreters on the fortepiano, presents the fifth part of his complete recording of Mozart's piano concertos on the Accent label with this release of two well-loved Piano Concertos, KV482 and KV491 (nos. 22 and 24). As they have already done on their previous issues, the aim of Schoonderwoerd and his ensemble Cristofori here is to liberate Mozart's works from traditional 19th-century sound concepts. Each string part in the orchestra is played by just one performer; the result is a very slender, transpare sound that supports the solo instrument.

Among the many popular Columbia recordings reissued in the Masterworks Expanded Edition, Murray Perahia's exceptional performances of Mozart's piano concertos surely merit the renewed attention. Over the 1970s Perahia recorded the entire cycle of concertos, and these have been favored by many for almost three decades for their consistent clarity, sincere expression, and abundant excitement. Conducted and played with a refined Classical sensibility, Perahia's readings with the English Chamber Orchestra are all bright and energetic, and these performances of the richly expressive Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, K. 271, and the majestic Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467, are representative of the wonders to be found in the complete set.

Mozart: The Violin Concertos, recorded with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL), of which Capuçon is Artistic Director. Mozart has been at the heart of the OCL’s repertoire since its foundation in 1942, and the orchestra’s extensive discography already includes acclaimed recordings of the composer’s complete piano concertos and serenades and other works. Now Mozart: The Violin Concertos reflects the rapport that Renaud Capuçon and the OCL have developed since the former became the ensemble’s Artistic Director at the start of the 2021 22 season.