Mozart: Violin Concertos

Following the success of her discs of Romantic and Late Romantic repertoire, Vilde Frang has recorded Mozart’s Concertos Nos. 1 and 5 ‘Turkish’ and the Sinfonia Concertante K364, enabling music lovers to hear the Norwegian violinist perform Classical repertoire on disc for the first time. The impetus for this album was a 2012 orchestral tour of Asia conducted by Jonathan Cohen in which Vilde performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. The vibrancy of their musical collaboration was something both artists were keen to repeat and commit to disc. Jonathan’s Cohen’s chamber orchestra, Arcangelo, proved the ideal partner, joined by violist Maxim Rysanov in the Sinfonia Concertante.

Featured works

• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Major K207
• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major K219 ‘Turkish’
• Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola & Orchestra in E-Flat Major K364

Press & Praise

GRAMOPHONE

“…the vitality and sense of freedom she brings to later music is preserved in Mozart; she adopts an airy, graceful style, confining any intense sostenuto to especially expressive moments…This, along with imagining in detail how to bring out the individuality of each phrase, results in performances that compel the attention and, in the quicker movements, expose all the wit of Mozart’s youthful imagination.”

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE CONCERTO CHOICE

“The First Concerto is immediately captivating: light, energetic and brightly coloured…Frang has the knack of breathing life into every note, whether by variations in phrasing, attack, tone…”

THE SUNDAY TIMES

“With Cohen’s period-instrument Arcangelo ensemble, [Frang and Rysanov] offer a fusion of traditional warmth and a more bracing instrumental style, sparing with vibrato in their solos, although not banishing it altogether. The results are fresh and invigorating, an unusually equal partnership in which the viola — Mozart’s preferred string instrument — is permitted its moments of glory.”