Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“No 34, with its trenchant first movement, enchanting andante and joyous finale, is particularly enjoyable. The Linz symphony’s performance seems to me a little less convincing — the opening allegro too hectic and, in the unusually scored slow movement, the important timpani part not prominent enough. But the splendid presto rounds it off with tremendous brio.” Sunday Times, 6th July 2008 ***

“This second instalment of Imogen Cooper's Mozart series with the trim and personable Northern Sinfonia juxtaposes the two climactic concertos of 1786: the sombrely dramatic C minor, and the Olympian C major. Perhaps K503's opening movement lacks something in majesty, for all Cooper's beauty of line and subtlety of colouring. But the finale is well-nigh ideal in its mingled grace and energy, its central oboe-piano love duet phrased with exquisite tenderness. Cooper finely balances passion and lyrical pathos in the outer movements of the C minor and distils a rarefied simplicity in the Larghetto, with delicately judged touches of ornamentation.” The Telegraph, 21st June 2008

“Imogen Cooper… understands her role in terms of expressive interplay and dynamic nuance. These interpretations are profoundly felt, excellently played and, apart from muffled timpani, truthfully reproduced.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008

“In K491, Imogen Cooper and the Northern Sinfonia do ample justice to the gravitas, intensity, drama, and poignancy of this great work.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008 ****

“The all-female, Weimar-trained Klenke Quartett, an unusually homogeneous ensemble, play [the quartets] with delicacy and brio, though a slightly broader tempo for K499’s adagio might have made more of the sublime passage leading to the reprise.” Sunday Times, 11th May 2008 ***

“Bezaly's exquisite, technically immaculate, compelling playing sets new standards in this repertoire, as do Kalevi Aho's stunning cadenzas, composed especially for this recording” BBC Music Magazine

“Israeli flautist Sharon Bezaly offers delectable performances of the familiar Mozart concertos.
The composer famously protested that he loathed the flute, though he was far too much of a pro to slip from his customary fastidious standards.
In the fast movements he is at his most puckish and insouciant, while the slow ones, especially the Adagio ma non troppo of the G major, infuse graceful galanterie with exquisite poetry.
To both concertos, plus the two separate movements (of which the D major Rondo is a transcription of the dapper C major Rondo for violin, K373), Bezaly brings pure, delicately coloured tone – beautiful throughout its range – phenomenal agility and breath control, and an impish sense of fun. The Allegros have an elegant bounce, with soloist and the ever-alert Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra relishing their quickfire interplay. Repeats are always a cue for imaginative new phrasings; and time and again Bezaly provokes a smile with her playfully varied bravura passagework.
Bezaly opts for a lighter tonal palette than usual and favours a cooler, simpler (and arguably more Mozartian) approach in slow movements.
Where she steps right out of period is in the cadenzas. Specially written by Kalevi Aho, these refract and fragment Mozart through a 21st-century prism, exploiting the whole compass of the flute and giving Bezaly scope to explore intriguing new colours. Purists may throw up their hands. But if you can adjust to the time-travelling you may find Aho's cadenzas ingenious, entertaining and strangely touching.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010