Following their critically acclaimed first volume of Mozart’s violin concertos (CHAN 20234), Francesca Dego and Sir Roger Norrington complete the set, once again with outstanding support from a reduced Royal Scottish National Orchestra. This cycle not only represents the first time Sir Roger has recorded these concertos, but the present album is also his final recording project. All five concertos were written before Mozart was twenty; nevertheless, his rapid development as a composer is evident in the progression from the first to the fifth, which has an unusual Adagio section within the first movement, an extensive slow movement, and of course the extensive ‘Turkish’ episode in the final movement (probably based on Hungarian folk music). Whilst given on modern instruments with metal strings, these are performances immersed in Norrington’s lifetime of experience in period performance practice. As The Sunday Times noted of the first album: ‘Pairing the veteran Mozartian Norrington – a pioneer of historical performance practice – with the young Italian-American soloist Dego proves inspiring in what promises to be one of the freshest of recent cycles of the Mozart concertos.’

REVIEWS:

Dego’s finespun tone, exquisite timing and enchanting musical inquisitiveness, not to mention her delightfully spontaneous decorating of musical lines, combine to create an uplifting sense of the music being composed as it goes along…[Norrington] could hardly have wished for a finer recorded swansong than this Mozart series.

-- BBC Music Magazine (Julian Haylock)

This recording is characterized by excellently balanced interpretations. They are characterized by a light-hearted and fluid gesture… Francesca Dego also finds an exciting approach to Mozart… she scores here with a creative approach, tonal freshness and noblesse. The orchestra from Scotland, conducted by Roger Norrington, soars, with the violins in oppositional seating as in Mozart’s day, to intense music-making that doesn’t overpower, creating a fitting complement to the solo mood.

-- Pizzicato (Uwe Krusch)