Manchester Camerata

The effervescent and communicative energy of Bavouzet and Takacs-Nagy is encapsulated again in this second volume of their Mozart series. These exhilarating interpretations of Mozart s piano concertos of 1784, faultlessly supported by the Manchester Camerata, follow highly praised concerts as well as a first volume which was Editor s Choice in Pianist. The two concertos presented here are among the six that Mozart composed in Vienna in an extraordinarily productive year.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Gábor Takács-Nagy continue their acclaimed survey of Mozart’s Piano Concertos with this tenth volume, concentrating on the very early works of the child-genius composer. As an exercise, his father, Leopold, tasked the eleven-year-old Mozart with creating concertos from existing works by (then popular, but now mostly forgotten) other composers. This ‘pasticcio’ technique was in fact quite common in the late baroque and early classical periods, especially for the creation of dramatic entertainment. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet explains: ‘Mozart’s contribution extends only to the orchestral part, for Mozart did not alter a note in the keyboard part of those pieces that Leopold had chosen for him. Excellent pedagogue that he was, Leopold did not only prepare only an exercise in orchestration, but also a procedure to allow his miraculously gifted young son to become acquainted with the form of the concerto.’ The four concertos are complemented by two overtures from Mozart’s earliest works in the operatic genre: Apollo et Hyacinthus and Bastien und Bastienne.

Fastness is a disc of orchestral music by Nicholas Simpson, who read law at Nottingham University, played guitar in rock bands, and then studied composition with John Tavener at Trinity College of Music, where he won the Chappell Prize for composition and the Ricordi Prize for conducting. Simpson practised as a criminal layer in London, but quit to be a professional musician on moving back to Manchester in 1998. His music has been widely played both in the UK and abroad, his output including three symphonies, a piano concerto, chamber music, an oratorio and Quarantine, an opera based on Jim Crace's 1995 Booker-shortlisted novel of the same name.

Fastness is a disc of orchestral music by Nicholas Simpson, who read law at Nottingham University, played guitar in rock bands, and then studied composition with John Tavener at Trinity College of Music, where he won the Chappell Prize for composition and the Ricordi Prize for conducting.

This third volume in the series from the electrifying combination of Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Manchester Camerata under Gabor Takacs-Nagy explores the final two of the six piano concertos of the year 1784, on which Mozart staked his reputation as both a performer and composer. Alongside these works features the pioneering Quintet for Piano and Winds, also from 1784, the first written for this combination of instruments and a work which Mozart regarded as his finest to date.

Praised by The Times for his “mastery of an instrument once dismissed as a squeezebox”, accordionist Martynas Levickis has captivated audiences and critics alike with his musicality, charisma and dynamic performances. As one of the world’s leading exponents of the accordion, his virtuosity and versatility in the classical and contemporary repertoire has transformed the way we hear the instrument.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Gábor Takács-Nagy continue their acclaimed survey of Mozart’s Piano Concertos with this tenth volume, concentrating on the very early works of the child-genius composer.

This third volume in the series from the electrifying combination of Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Manchester Camerata under Gábor Takács-Nagy explores the final two of the six piano concertos of the year 1784, on which Mozart staked his reputation as both a performer and composer. Alongside these works features the pioneering Quintet for Piano and Winds, also from 1784, the first written for this combination of instruments and a work which Mozart regarded as his finest to date.