Mozart, Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E flat major, K. 364

A musician's musician, an occasional firebrand and a constant paradox - Nikolaus Harnoncourt (born in 1929) is one of the most profound and intriguing conductors of our time. Considered one of the world's leading specialists of Baroque music, he has long since turned his attention to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and even to Jacques Offenbach and Johann Strauss. He spent many years as a cellist with the Wiener Symphoniker before founding the "Concentus Musicus Wien" with his wife Alice in 1953. It soon became one of the world's most respected ensembles specializing in the performance of early music on original instruments. In the 1970s, Harnoncourt joined forces with Jean-Pierre Ponnelle to stage a series of Monteverdi operas at the Zurich Opera House. This universally acclaimed cycle contributed to a renaissance of Monteverdi's music and set standards for early Baroque performance practice. Harnoncourt later began to turn his attention more and more to the music of Mozart, whom he considers "the most romantic of all composers". His concept of Mozart's music ran counter to the prevailing 20th-century views, however. He sees Mozart's music as "dramatic, dynamic, often directly and highly emotional." The Vienna Philharmonic, known for its suave and gracious Mozartian interpretations, initially rebelled against Harnoncourt's unconventional approach. Yet the compellingness of his vision soon came to be accepted and shared by all members of the orchestra.