Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 18 KV 456 & 21 KV 467 in Bloomington, MN

This release is part of a series from the
Alpha
label entitled "Next Generation Mozart Soloists," and from the evidence here, pianist
Jonathan Fournel
will rank high among this generation. This is his sophomore release on
, after an album of
Brahms sonatas
in 2021, and while the world may not seem to have been clamoring for new performances of these two perennially popular
Mozart
piano concertos, especially not for one on modern instruments, these have what it takes to stand out from the crowd. In the
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
,
Fournel
plays cadenzas by
Dinu Lipatti
, and indeed, his playing may remind some of that tragically short-lived figure from the middle of the last century. It is liquid and lyrical. In the famed slow movement of the work,
achieves a level of restrained, ethereal melody that few can match. In the
Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat major, K. 456
proves equally adept in the more expansive, complex type of
concerto structure and shows that his carefully cultivated smooth tone does not come at the expense of close attention to small details that are, in the usual Mozartian fashion, of great structural significance. The
Mozarteum Orchestra
under veteran conductor
Howard Griffiths
, provides perfect, circumspect support, and a small hall at the Mozarteum in Salzburg offers an ideal ambiance. An exceptional
recording showing that the traditional approach is still more than viable. ~ James Manheim