The Japanese musician Mitsuko Uchida (* 1948) ranks among the elite pianists of the world. She moved to Vienna at the early age of 12 to study at the Musikhochschule there. In the 1970s she launched her international career which reached its first climax with her recording of Mozart’s complete sonatas. Since then Uchida has been regarded as an expert for Mozart’s piano works. She is also interested in the works of Haydn, Schubert, Chopin, Schoenberg and Messiaen. Here she brilliantly masters the double task of performing and conducting Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor K. 466. Uchida, a renowned soloist who regularly performs with the Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is accompanied by the Camerata Salzburg. The concert was recorded under Horant H. Hohlfeld’s direction at the Mozarteum in Salzburg in March 2001.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B minor Op.23
Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major Op.44
Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.
Concert Fantasy Op. 56
Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.
Symphony No. 1 in G minor Op. 13 “Winter Daydreams”
Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.
Haydn, Symphony in C major, Hob.I:60 “Il Distratto” (with addition) (Mozartwoche 2001)
The former “Camerata academica Salzburg” was renamed simply “Camerata Salzburg” in 2001. It was founded in 1951 by Bernhard Paumgartner, who was its head and mentor for many years. From 1978 to 1997 its artistic director was Sándor Végh and in 1997 Roger Norrington was appointed principal conductor of the ensemble. The Camerata Salzburg can be heard every year at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival. Roger Norrington was born in Oxford and studied in Cambridge and London. From 1969 to 1984 he was musical director of the Kent Opera and conducted productions at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Milan’s La Scala and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. He founded the London Classical Players and is principal conductor of the Camerata Salzburg and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Mozart, Symphony in D major K.196 and Finale K.121 (Mozartwoche 2001)
Frans Brüggen was born in Amsterdam in 1934. After pursuing a great career as a recorder virtuoso, he began to devote himself almost exclusively to conducting. In 1981 he founded the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, with which he has gone on tours around the world. He has also led many of the leading orchestras in Europe. The Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg goes back to the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” founded in 1841. Since 1938 it has been an independent institution with professional musicians. It has been the orchestra of the city and the Land of Salzburg since 1958 and, in addition to its activity as opera and concert orchestra, it also performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche.
Mozart, Concertone in C major for two Violins and Orchestra, K.190 (Mozartwoche 2001)
Mozart’s Concertone for two violins and orchestra K. 190, an unusual work in the style of a “symphonie concertante”, showcases the talent of solo violinists Markus Tomasi and Frank Stadler. Markus Tomasi was born in Vienna in 1960. He studied in Salzburg with Paul Roczek and Josef Suk, and attended master classes given by Max Rostal, Norbert Brainin, Gerhard Schulz, Jens Ellermann and Dorothy Delay. Since 1983 he has been first concertmaster of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and guests as soloist and chamber musician in Europe, Japan and the U.S. Frank Stadler comes from Bavaria and studied at the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is concertmaster and artistic director of the Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik, at whose center is the Stadler Quartet, which he founded. He has been the concertmaster of the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg since 1999. Frans Brüggen was born in Amsterdam in 1934. After pursuing a great career as a recorder virtuoso, he began to devote himself almost exclusively to conducting. In 1981 he founded the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, with which he has gone on tours around the world. He has also led many of the leading orchestras in Europe. The Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg goes back to the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” founded in 1841. Since 1938 it has been an independent institution with professional musicians. It has been the orchestra of the city and the Land of Salzburg since 1958 and, in addition to its activity as opera and concert orchestra, it also performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche.
Mozart, Symphony No.25 in G minor, K.183 (Mozartwoche 2001)
Written in Salzburg in 1773, the “Little” G minor (thus distinguished from the “Great” G minor K. 550) is one of the most striking works in the group of nine symphonies Mozart wrote in 1773/74, as well as Mozart’s first symphony in a minor key. Music historians have often wondered about the origin of this stormy and dramatic work that echoes the “Storm and Stress” movement surging through Central Europe at that time. K. 183 also follows the model of the minor-key symphonies of other composers such as Joseph Haydn and, particularly, J. C. Bach, whose Op. 6 No. 6 even contains some similar turns. Frans Brüggen was born in Amsterdam in 1934. After pursuing a great career as a recorder virtuoso, he began to devote himself almost exclusively to conducting. In 1981 he founded the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, with which he has gone on tours around the world. He has also led many of the leading orchestras in Europe. The Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg goes back to the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” founded in 1841. Since 1938 it has been an independent institution with professional musicians. It has been the orchestra of the city and the Land of Salzburg since 1958 and, in addition to its activity as opera and concert orchestra, it also performs regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche.
Mozart, Violin Concerto No.3 in G major, K.216 (Mozartwoche 2001)
Isabelle Faust began taking music lessons at the age of five. The recipient of many international awards, she is today a sought-after guest as soloist and chamber musician in all of Europe, the U.S., Israel and Japan. She plays a “Sleeping Beauty” Stradivarius of 1704. This recording from the Salzburg Mozartwoche documents her debut there. The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg has been the orchestra of the city and Land of Salzburg since 1958 and regularly concertizes at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. The principal conductor is the Dutch-born Hubert Soudant, who led the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de France in Paris from 1981 to 1983 and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1986. In addition to his activities in Salzburg, Soudant is also the principal conductor of the Orchestra and Opéra des Pays de Loire in Nantes and Angers, France. Mozart, who was also an accomplished violinist, wrote all of his five violin concertos in Salzburg in 1775, apparently for his own personal use. Their style can best be described as cosmopolitan and reflects the many musical currents he had been exposed to while on his travels in Italy and elsewhere. Aristocratic, suave, witty, wonderfully melodious, they are dazzling gems that conceal an inner core of challenging material that can be truly mastered only by the very best violinists.