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Following her critically acclaimed recording with Sir Roger Norrington and the RSNO of violin concertos by Mozart, Francesca Dego turns to a selection of his violin sonatas with her long-term recital partner, Francesca Leonardi. Dego comments: ‘Francesca and I have been playing together for seventeen years, more than half my life and the totality of my career. To work as a duo on a regular basis means reaching common interpretative solutions, ones that sum up each player’s qualities, and creates a great sense of mutual responsibility. What you do together somehow feels naturally complete. We decided to build this album around our very favourite Sonata, KV 454 in B flat major, which we had been performing for many years and in which Mozart’s simplicity and flamboyance coexist in perfect harmony.’

Ensemble Zefiro was founded in 1989 by oboists Alfredo Bernardini and Paolo Grazzi together with bassoonist Alberto Grazzi and consists of talented musicians drawn from leading Baroque orchestras. Zefiro regularly appears to great acclaim at major European, Asian and South American festivals.

The three concertos are young Mozart's first in the genre (along with the Pasticci concertos 1-4), and are based on tunes by J.C. Bach. While the questions are rightly posed, "how much of this did Mozart write and how much of it was Leopold or other sources," the music stands for itself. While not neccesarily the work of a young genius sprung fully formed from Zeus' head, they are excellent examples of galant composition.

Here is a recital by several great instumentalists. Often the atmosphere of a true "chamber" ensemble is missing when several great soloists play together, but not here. The recorded sound is beautiful, and the musicality could hardly be bettered. These are prime recordings by Richter, Kagan, Bashmet and each musician involved.

Phillips' Great Pianists of the 20th Century issue has gotten a lot of publicity in the ten or so years since it has been released. In a musical niche suffering from falling revenues, it was a decent seller. But it left many connoisseurs disappointed, as the quality was limited to the fancy packaging.