Freiburger

After the first two instalments, highly praised by the press – ‘one of the finest, most . . . thrilling performances of [the] Fourth Concerto’, wrote Gramophone – Kristian Bezuidenhout, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester close their Beethoven trilogy with the classical yet already eminently personal Concerto no.1, and that masterpiece of intensity and drama, Concerto no.3. Once again, period instruments and historically informed performance practice reveal the astonishing modernity that early listeners found in these works!

If the shadow of Mozart still haunts Schubert’s Symphony no.5, the Seventh (in no way ‘unfinished’ in the eyes of its creator) already looks far into the future. Pablo Heras-Casado and the musicians of the Freiburger Barockorchester lead us towards that Romantic élan. Their flexible approach, keen and swift in the earlier symphony, making room for shadows and mystery in its successor, meets the challenge of bringing out the contrast between these ‘two Schuberts’, here more audible than ever.

Anyone who enjoys Mozart opera should hear this disc. Yet quite a few people who'd probably love it to death if they listened are going to pass it by. Why? Well, look at the selections - it's not exactly a 'greatest hits' selection in the truly popular sense. Lucio Silla, Il re pastore, Mitridate, Zaïde - hardly front rank Mozart operas in the public consciousness; with Die Entführung we're getting closer - and suddenly you spot track 2, Pamina's gorgeous lament to lost love from The Magic Flute: 'Ach, ich fühl's' - anyone who hears Sandrine Piau singing this famous number will want to experience the rest of the recording no matter what.

Haydn's importance in the development of both the symphony and the string quartet is well known and his works in those genres have become staples of the repertoire. However, the great composer's piano concerti are not performed nearly as often as those of Mozart or Beethoven. After listening to these glorious performances by fortepianist Andreas Staier, originally released in 2005, you will wonder why.

From the youthful Concerto no.6 (1776) to the almost testamentary Concerto no.25 (1786), Mozart’s style underwent considerable evolution. In ten years, the young prodigy gave way to a master fully aware that he was opening up new horizons for the genre. With this fourth album in their series, Kristian Bezuidenhout and the Freiburger Barockorchester continue their exploration of a corpus visited so many times before; but with them, we have the impression we are rediscovering each note as if it were the first time.

It is true that images have the power to keep a trace of the past. Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburger Barockorchestra prove with this recording that music too conceals the secret of the memory deep within. Though rarely played, much less recorded, Mozart’s youth symphonies bear the reminiscence of the child the composer used to be, as well as including the seeds of his future masterpieces.

Das Freiburger Barockorchester zählt zu den wichtigsten Kammerorchestern weltweit. Zahlreiche nationale und internationale Auszeichnungen, darunter der Grammy Award, Echo Klassik oder der Deutsche Schallplattenpreis sind Zeugnisse ihres einzigartigen Schaffens.

This is probably Mozart’s least interesting opera–if indeed it is an opera at all. Composed at the end of 1771 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Salzburg’s Archbishop Schrattenbach, its performance was cancelled due to the archbishop’s sudden death. Mozart re-dedicated it to the new archbishop (Colloredo). There is still doubt as to whether it was ever performed. It’s in one act of just under two hours and is concerned with the Roman general Scipio, who in a dream is made to choose between the godesses Fortune and Constancy to guide him through life. Needless to say, he chooses Constancy over luck, and we don’t care.