Christian Zacharias, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne - Mozart: Piano Concertos Vol. 8 (2012)

Both concertos on this volume are from 1786: Mozart composed KV 491 in C minor in great haste on 24 March while he was working on the opera Figaro, and KV 503 in C major followed on 4 December while he was writing the Prague Symphony. The premiere of the C minor concerto with its lavish wind parts was highly successful and held its surprises in store for the members of the audience: the masterful symphonic intertwining of the solo and orchestral parts and the passionate tone with which the work by far transcends the familiar traditions. Its first listeners called for the repetition of the slow movement distinguished by captivating wind passages. In KV 503 the virtuoso element again predominates, even though Mozart here too designs the intricate textures with bravura and produces most highly surprising harmonic and tonal nuances. And this at a time when his pecuniary soar went into the crash mode. He moved into more economical lodgings and worked like a madman.