Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, K39

Swiss pianist Karl Engel was a student of Paul Baumgartner at the Basel Conservatory from 1942 to 1945. After World War II he studied with Alfred Cortot at the École Normale de Musique in Paris in 1947-1948. He toured internationally as a soloist with orchestras, a recitalist and as a chamber music performer. He became particularly known for his complete cycles of Mozart piano sonatas and concertos, and Beethoven piano sonatas. He also distinguished himself as an accompanist, often appearing in Lieder recitals with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Peter Schreier and Brigitte Fassbaender. Among his chamber music partners were Pablo Casals, Yehudi Menuhin as well as the Melos Quartet. From 1958 to 1986 Karl Engel was Professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany. He gave famous master-classes in France, Canada and Portugal.

Viviana Sofronitsky followed in the footsteps of her father, the distinguished Russian pianist Vladimir Sofronitsky. She gained a DMA from Moscow Conservatoire and has degrees in historical fortepiano and harpsichord performance. Musica Antiqua Collegium Varsoviense is part of the Warsaw Chamber Opera and the musicians perform on original period instruments. The fortepiano was made by McNulty.

Mozart Piano Concertos are a cornerstone of any CD collection and this cycle features the winning combination of Alfred Brendel and The Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner in 23 concertos (recorded 1970-84), with Imogen Cooper in the concertos for two pianos. Ingrid Haebler is soloist in Concertos 1-4.

"Throughout, his thoughts [Brendel] are never less than penetrating. The transfers are consistently of the very highest quality, as is the playing of The Academy of St Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner" The Penguin Guide