These performances are of a surpassing musicality throughout.Although Mozart's five violin concertos represent only a very small part of his creative work (when compared to...

These performances are of a surpassing musicality throughout.

Although Mozart's five violin concertos represent only a very small part of his creative work (when compared to the 27 piano concertos and the 41 symphonies), they nevertheless belong to the core repertoire of all violinists. Just like his piano concertos Mozart’s violin concertos, all of them written in his young years, rest on the constant dialogue of the solo instrument with the orchestra. Right from the first concerto the violin is integrated into the performance of the orchestra, which in itself is much more than just accompaniment. Gil Shaham, one of the foremost violinist of our times, carves these works to jewels of the genre. He is accompanied by the SWR Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan, who stands for historically informed music performance.

REVIEW:

This cycle of Mozart violin concertos has no right to be as good as it is. The players are of diverse backgrounds and aren’t known for working together. So it’s a surprise to find that these performances are of a surpassing musicality throughout. Shaham’s slow movements are gloriously melodic, and listeners get to hear the rarely heard replacement Adagio in E major, K. 261, a superb piece of Mozartian lyricism. Coordination between soloist and orchestra is at a very high level. This relatively unheralded release may come to be seen as a standard for Mozart’s violin concertos.

-- AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)