Up to 30% off Brilliant Classics

Recording dates from 1997

The wind soloists all hold major positions in leading Dutch orchestras such as the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble. They also hold key posts at the conservatories of The Hague and Rotterdam.

Pianist Klára Würtz was taught by Zoltán Kocsis, and has taken masterclasses with András Schiff.

Apart from extensive tours of the US, and many appearances on French, Irish, American and Dutch TV, she has a busy concert schedule in the Netherlands where she lives. She has recorded extensively for Brilliant Classics.

K452 is an undisputed masterpiece. Each instrument is in effect a virtuoso soloist, and Mozart’s writing for them all is masterful. It dates from the most intensive creative period in Mozart’s life, 1784–7, between which time he produced twelve piano concertos, a horn concerto, a symphony, five quintets for various combinations of instruments, five string quartets, two piano quartets, three trios, five sonatas, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, plus Der Schauspieldirektor, Eine kleine Nachtmusik and several shorter works – an extraordinary achievement, even by his standards.

Without doubt, the young Beethoven would have been familiar with this work. In 1792 he had arrived in Vienna as a highly praised piano virtuoso and composer for his instrument. Beethoven’s early chamber works (with the exception of the Op.1 trios and the Op.5 cello sonatas) are for winds, and Mozart’s work provided the model for the Piano Quintet Op.16 in the same way as the Second Piano Concerto Op.1 is the most ‘Mozartian’ of his concertos. However, far from being ‘Mozartian’ in sound, Beethoven’s forceful and unique piano-writing and his robust Haydnesque humour (he had recently finished his studies with Haydn) mark this work as one of his early masterpieces. It dates from 1796.

For the first time complete in one set: the works for string ensemble by Mozart. Ranging from the duos for violin and viola to the magnificent string quintets, these works show Mozart’s genius in ensemble writing, finding the perfect balance of harmony and counterpoint, while expressing the whole gamut of human emotions, from debonair gaiety to dark despair.

A central position in the set is of course for the 17 string quartets, flanked on one side by the wonderful string trio, and on the other side by the 6 mature and large scale string quintets. Excellent performances by leading string ensembles, such as the Chilingirian Quartet, the Orlando Quartet and the Franz Schubert Quartet of Vienna.

Mozart’s genius can often be perceived most clearly in the technical experimentation and expressive breadth of his chamber works; this 12-disc box set of his complete string duos, trios, quartets and quintets places this genius and skill in the spotlight, offering a comprehensive overview of some of the Classical era’s greatest masterpieces.

In these works - which span Mozart’s career, from the K80 quartet that he composed as a 14-year-old prodigy to the K590 quartet, which dates from the year before his death - listeners will find a wealth of inventive techniques: variations, canonic and fugal writing, operatic melodies, graceful slow movements, playful changes in character and moments of musical drama are all present.

170 CD + CD-ROM

Our first Complete Mozart Edition, released in 2006, was an international hit, winning plaudits from critics and customers alike for the quality of the music making and representing great value for money.

Why, then, have we chosen not to rest on our laurels but to improve upon this successful product? Here are some of the reasons:

The interpretation of Mozart's music continues to evolve and, four years on from the original release, Brilliant Classics' Complete Mozart Edition has evolved with it. We have included new recordings by prominent Mozart performers such as Guiliano Carmignola (violin concertos) and Oficina Musicum (La Betulia Liberata). Several of the recordings have already won the coveted Diapason d'or.

The Enhanced Contents - Brilliant Classics' Complete Mozart Edition contains:

- 170 CDs representing the entirety of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's oeuvre in historically informed performances. This includes all the concertos, chamber music, divertimenti, sonatas and of course the operas.

- 1 CD-ROM containing liner notes and performers' biographies in English, librettos and sung texts, complete 2010 Brilliant Classics catalogue.

The Packaging: Our new, redesigned packaging means CDs in slipcases and the complete set neatly displayable in a single, attractive space-saving box.

For reasons of completeness, pure musical enjoyment, scholarly research, attractive, space-saving design and price, you cannot afford to be without Brilliant Classics' improved Complete Mozart Edition.

Van Oort plays on five different (copies of) period fortepianos to convey Mozart’s music as directly as possible without the necessary “translation” when playing a modern grand. This results in a great clarity of sound and structure.

Part of this issue represents an important addition to the Mozart repertoire. The Adagio in F major, K Anh. A65, the Modulation Prelude, K624 and the Ballet music from another opera, Ascanio in Alba, K111, are amongst the first recordings too.

Brilliance, fluency, clarity and extraordinary communicative powers – Mozart seems to have had them all. Little wonder he was hailed as the finest pianist of his generation – even rivals such as Clementi commented ‘I had never heard anyone play with so much spirit and grace…’ Of course we have no idea how Mozart the pianist sounded. We have the reviews and comments of those who heard him perform, and we have the instruments of his time. These do take us some way to understanding performance practice of the day, and the limitations of the instruments, and how composers of the late 18th century worked to test the instruments, and make greater demands upon the constantly evolving pianoforte.

On these 14 CDs, everything Mozart wrote for solo keyboard, or for 4-hands is here, from small works written down by his incredulous father Leopold when his son as just 5 years old, to the works of the child prodigy through to the masterpieces of the mature genius.

There is much that is well known here, but interestingly there are several first recordings. All the works are played on pianofortes of the period.

Extensive booklet notes on an accompanying CD-ROM.

Includes world premiere recordings.

First complete cycle using instruments of the period.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is considered one of the greatest composers of all time. In his relatively short life he contributed to every style of composition, and is as well known for his instrumental music as for his sacred works and operas. Credited with the invention of the piano concerto, his distinctive style and developments in orchestration brought new sophistication to the music of the Classical period. During the 1770s Mozart was an employee of the Archbishop Hieronymous Colloredo in Salzburg, and it is from this period that the Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra in F K242 dates. The work was written with the Archbishop’s nieces in mind, although it was later revised for Mozart and his sister to play, and its cheeky interplay between the soloists and various passages of fast finger work are typical of Mozart’s style. The Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra K365 that follows contains a plethora of ideas that the composer weaves into a whole; the ensuing Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in D K382, meanwhile, was hugely popular among the Viennese audience at the time of its composition, and has remained so today – thanks to its imaginative scoring and memorable melodies. Last, not by no means least, the Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in A: thought to have been the original finale to the Piano Concerto in A, this work was not published in Mozart’s lifetime. Gradually pieced together from manuscript sold on by his wife after his death, it was finally issued in 1963. The disc features four outstanding pianists: Hungarian pianist and conductor Zoltán Kocsis, fellow countryman Dezsö Ranki, British‐Hungarian András Schiff and Germanborn Annerose Schmidt. They are joined by the Hungarian State Orchestra (conducted by János Ferencsik) and the Dresdner Philharmonie (conducted by Kurt Masur).

The last of the great collaborations with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, Così fan tutte was, for many years, considered unworthy of a composer of Mozart’s genius. The problem was the frivolous nature of the plot, and its misogynistic theme – testing the fidelity of women through a series of tricks pulled by their lovers. Dig deeper, however, and a clever comedy of manners emerges. Mozart’s genius in depicting human emotions and frailties is breathtaking. His simultaneous mix of the comic, the cruel and the serious has seldom been used to such effect by any composer before or since – and even with such a skilled librettist as da Ponte, the quality of the music far outshines that of the text. Today Così fan tutte is ranked rightly alongside Mozart’s other great operas.