Naxos Mozart

Mozart's youthful Flute Concertos, K. 313 and K. 314, and the Concerto for flute, harp, and orchestra, K. 299, may not be obvious choices for a sonic spectacular, but flutist and conductor Patrick Gallois finds enough bright and colorful sonorities in these works to make this recording an audiophile's delight. There is no indication that Gallois or the Swedish Chamber Orchestra use period instruments, yet this almost does not matter in their tasteful performances, which seem in all other respects to observe Classical practices right down to including a harpsichord continuo.

The Naxos team consisting of pianist Jenö Jandó, the chamber orchestra Concentus Hungaricus and conductor Mátyás Antal came together again in May, June and July 1990 in order to record this, 11 volumes of the Naxos Complete Mozart Piano Concertos, and it seems to me that they had lost nothing of the impetus created by the previous issues, most of which were definite five-star material.

Mozart’s return to Vienna in 1781 initiated a remarkable period of inventiveness and productivity. In late 1784 he wrote the Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, a work Mozart performed in Frankfurt on the occasion of Leopold II’s election as Holy Roman Emperor and which is notable for its rhythmic vivacity and sense of colour. In 1786 he wrote the Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major – a work that stretched the concerto genre considerably with its operatic qualities and dramatic dialogue. Ignaz Lachner’s ingenious transcriptions show a complete grasp of Mozart’s idiom, incorporating much instrumental detail and reinventing the music’s underlying dramatic scheme within a chamber context.

The box set Great Piano Concertos has been produced to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Naxos and draws on their extensive catalogue of concerto recordings. The recording quality varies from the older 1980’s recordings but there are some good things to enjoy in the 10 CD set particularly Idil Biret playing the two Chopin piano concerts with the Slovak State Philharmonic under Rubert Stankovsky. The two Liszt concertos with Eldar Nebolsin and the RLPO under Petrenko are also very enjoyable as is Jenő Jando playing the Grieg and Schumann concertos with the Budapest Symphony under András Ligeti.