Mozart Mcgegan

Mozart’s horn concertos are so well-known that for many listeners the sound of the horn and Mozart are virtually synonymous. Mozart was not the first composer to write solo concertos for the horn, however, and works from earlier on in the eighteenth century give a quite different perspective on the instrument. With this disc soloist Alec Frank-Gemmill provides insights into some of these early horn concertos, by composers ranging from Telemann to Haydn, by way of Mozart’s own father, Leopold.

Sparkling performances of Mozart's piano concertos No.18 and No.19 by keyboard virtuoso Melvyn Tan, "that princeling among fortepianists" (San Francisco Examiner). "Nimble, thoughtful musicianship… a sweet, crystalline tone" - San Francisco Chronicle "Two of the most seductive Mozart performances available" - Chicago Tribune

"Greer is a highly accomplished player of the natural horn… I find Greer's playing very musicianly: unusually graceful in the phrasing of the quick movements, with gentle, thoughtful playing in K417 and some lovely smooth and clear lines in K495, while the slow movements are all beautifully done—the Romance of K447 refined and graceful, that of K495 often truly poetic with happy details of timing. And there is no shortage of wit in the finales, or of high spirits. Greer improvises his cadenzas: in the first movement of K495 he does, rightly I think, simply a longish flourish, with no reference to the themes of the movement." (Stanley Sadie, Gramophone Magazine)

Capella Savaria has earned its fame as the first period- instrument chamber orchestra of Hungary. The ensemble’s objectives were, from the onset, to play baroque and classical music in an authentic way. This time they perform Mozart’s double concerto (including additions by Robert D. Levin) together with conductor Nicholas McGegan.“Ideally it should not only sound Mozartean in every bar, but should also produce a feeling of balance in both rhetorical and structural domains—a great challenge.”

The Capella Savaria is the oldest chamber orchestra in Hungary to play on authentic instruments, and the ensemble’s latest joint recording with conductor Nicholas McGegan features two Mozart serenades with solo Zsolt Kalló violinist. Serenades were a popular genre in the 18th century, and were usually written for special events (betrothals, weddings, the birth of children in wealthy families). For a court musician like Mozart, serenades represented an excellent source of income: in 1776 he wrote ten such occasional works, including the two pieces on this recording.

O Mozart! Immortal Mozart! What countless impressions of a brighter, better life hast thou stamped upon our souls! wrote Schubert in his diary a few months before he started composing his Symphony No. 5. There is a distinctly Mozartian aura to be felt in this piece although the romantic harmonies herald the beginning of a new era: the Concert for Violin and Orchestra, the Rondo and the Polonaise all display the characteristic traits of budding Romanticism. Founded in 1981, Capella Savaria has earned its fame as the first period-instrument chamber orchestra in Hungary. Zsolt Kallo, violinist, acts as the concertmaster, soloist, and artistic director of Capella Savaria.