Mozart: Violin Concerto D major, K.App. 56/K315f

This CD features three works composed by Mozart between 1777 and 1784. The first, chronologically, is the Concerto for Violin and Piano, composed in 1778 and abandoned by Mozart after 120 meticulously orchestrated bars to later be reconstructed by the British musicologist and Mozart specialist, Dr. Philip Wilby. This double concerto is coupled with the Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano K379 (1781) and the Piano Concerto in D Major K451 (1784).

Dr. Philip Wilby, who wrote the CD booklet note, believes that when Mozart stopped work on the Concerto for Violin and Piano, he transferred his inspiration to the Concert Sonata for Violin and Piano in D Major K306, so that the two works are in fact the same conception. Dr. Wilby completed the Concerto’s first movement, taking some music from the sonata as a basis, and scored the second and third movements from the respective movements of the sonata.

The Violin Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano K379 is a short two-movement work in which Mozart very likely tried to establish himself in the amateur music market. The Concerto in D Major for Violin and Piano K451 was composed shortly after Mozart’s marriage, at a time when he was trying to make his mark in Vienna as a composer and performer.

Called “adventurous and brilliant” by the New York Times, Hope was named “the most exciting British string player since Jacqueline du Pré,” by the London Observer.  A recent New York Times review summarized him as “a violinist of probing intellect and commanding style,” and continued: “In a business that likes tidy boxes drawn around its commodities, the British violinist Daniel Hope resists categorization.  Mr. Hope, a compelling performer whose work involves standard repertory, new music, raga, and jazz, emphasizes thoughtful engagement over flamboyant display.  In his most personal undertakings, he puts classical works within a broader context – not just among other styles and genres but amid history, literature, and drama – to emphasize music’s role as a mirror for struggle and aspiration.”

For Mozart, wind instruments had their own voices, full of warmth and tenderness, as much as singers did, and his concertos are animated with an operatic sense of drama. His own experience as a violinist allowed him to write five concertos for the instrument that are full of sparky virtuosity, here conveyed with sovereign authority by Henryk Szeryng.

This collection (originally released as part of the legendary Philips Classics Mozart Edition) is full of truly authoritative performances featuring internationally acclaimed artists.