Mozart: Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra No. 10 in E flat, K365

Brendel’s Mozart credentials are very much in evidence in these performances. The 17th concerto was highly acclaimed when it first appeared on the Vox label in the 1960s and it is arguable that his collaboration with Walter Klein in recording the concerto and sonata for two pianos has never been surpassed.

World famous Spanish-born concert pianist Jose Iturbi (1895-1980) was renowned for his brilliant interpretations of Mozart. Restored and remastered from the original recordings made between 1937 and 1940, the disc features three of Mozart's masterpieces, all conducted from the keyboard by Mr. Iturbi. His sister, Amparo Iturbi joins him in the extraordinarily beautiful Two Piano Concerto. The clearness and fluency of interpretation and the crispness of execution, make these legendary performances a must for all serious collectors of great piano playing and, of course, elegant Mozart playing.

Thus did BBC Music Magazine praise Dedicated to Victims of War and Terror (DE3259), one of two previous Delos albums in which Maestro Constantine Orbelian – longtime Director of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra (MCO) – appears as the featured pianist. The other is Shostakovich – Schnittke: Piano Quintets (DE 1038). The present release, offering engaging concerto performances, is now Orbelian’s third recording for Delos as a pianist. Some fans of Orbelian’s work as conductor may still not be aware of his brilliant career as a concert pianist before he assumed the MCO’s directorship in 1991. Since then – despite his intermittent appearances as a pianist – his immense success as a conductor has overshadowed his reputation as a distinguished keyboard artist. With this sterling reissue, a new generation of listeners should come to appreciate his rare piano mastery. While all of these winning performances are with the MCO, they were recorded in the years just before Orbelian took over the orchestra. The three concertos with single piano were performed under the deft baton of previous MCO director Andrei Korsakov, whose untimely death in 1991 left the vacancy that Orbelian filled. Korean Maestro Nanse Gum expertly conducted the Mozart “Double” Concerto No. 10, also featuring noted American pianist Jonathan Shames. Orbelian’s trumpet partner in the Shostakovich is the Russian superstar Sergei Nakariakov, then only about 12 years old!

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).

These works are not heard very often and these recordings were made in the Moscow Conservatory in 1986. Eliso Virsaldze is an outstanding Georgian and Russian pianist.

Lugansky enjoys an international career.

A delightful programme of Mozart works which features the considerable talents of Laura Mikkola. The recording is based around the Finnish village of Iitti’s summer festival held in the delightful wooden church, which dates back to 1693.