Not Mozart (all 6 Episodes) (1991)

The performances are uniformally excellent – a splendid cast, with a marvellously affecting Fiordiligi in Charlotte Margiono, Thomas Hampson as superb as ever as Don Alfonso, and a particularly beautifully sung Ferrando. Deon van der Walt - it is worth hearing. The Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera have very little to do but their reputation does precede them. The true consistent glory is in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Not a group that does a lot of operatic work, they nonetheless have no difficulty in bringing all the polish and intense musicianship for which the orchestra is famous. Under the direction of Harnoncourt, with whom the RCO have worked frequently over the years, this recording shows that the Amsterdammers continue to deserve their reputation as one of the world’s very greatest ensembles.

Mozart wrote a plethera of fine chamber music in the galante style of the classical era: Quintets for various instruments, string quartets, string trios, string duos, piano trios, violin sonatas and the two magnificent piano quartets here. With these two quartets, Mozart more-or-less invented the genre which was later taken up by Schumann, Brahms and Dvorak. These piano quartets show Mozart in both a dramatic mode in the minor work and a typical merry mood in the major piece.

Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler in 1975, but died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks. The band became famed for their sensational live shows and nonstop touring. However, early studio albums did not sell very well until the release of Fire and Water, which featured the massive hit "All Right Now".

Jonathan Anthony Rose (born 19 February 1951) is an Australian violinist, composer, and multimedia artist. Rose's work is centered in the experimental music known as free improvisation, where he has created large environmental multimedia works, built experimental musical instruments, and improvised violin concertos with accompanying orchestra…

The Mozart is perhaps better known as the 2nd Flute Concerto. The oboe version was found by Bernhard Paumgartner in 1920 and doubts have been raised about its authenticity. Sarah Francis has taken the step of restoring the oboe part as closely as possible to the flute part, thereby ensuring that what we hear is at least Mozart. My feeling is that the nature of the oboe, plus the downward transposition (from D), introduces a certain heaviness to the attractively mercurial original.

For Mozart, wind instruments had their own voices, full of warmth and tenderness, as much as singers did, and his concertos are animated with an operatic sense of drama. His own experience as a violinist allowed him to write five concertos for the instrument that are full of sparky virtuosity, here conveyed with sovereign authority by Henryk Szeryng. This collection (originally released as part of the legendary Philips Classics Mozart Edition) is full of truly authoritative performances featuring internationally acclaimed artists.

The dynamic mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos was born into a singing family; her Greek father was a tenor, and her German mother a soprano. Born in New York, Troyanos studied at the Juilliard School with Hans J. Heinz, while singing occasionally in the New York area (she was a member of the original chorus for the Broadway production of The Sound of Music). In April 1963 she made her operatic debut with the New York City Opera, in the New York premiere of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. She remained with the City Opera for two years.