Academy of Ancient Music
Robert Levin fortepiano
Richard Egarr director & harpsichord
1 CD in hardback booklet
Released 21 June 2024
£20.00
For its infectious sense of spontaneity, not to mention its completeness ... this cycle has set new standards. It marks a defining achievement in a career that has straddled scholarship and performance at the highest level. ★★★★★ The Financial Times
The freshness of the music is delightfully brought out... ★★★★★ (Performance) ★★★★★ (Recording) BBC Music Magazine
Good things come to those who wait... This generous and sumptuously presented package is eminently recommendable. Gramophone
What an achievement this wonderful set is; and quite right it should be crowned by these two titans of Mozart's œuvre. Classical Explorer
AAM releases the final volume of an acclaimed project to record Mozart’s complete works for keyboard and orchestra. Fittingly, this final instalment includes three works that in various ways are valedictory: K595 is Mozart’s last completed keyboard concert, while K503 is the last concerto of his Viennese years. Louise Alder joins AAM and Robert Levin in an aria for solo soprano, solo keyboard and orchestra; Ch’io mi scordi di te? is a farewell to one of Mozart’s favourite singers, Nancy Storace. The hardback CD package is accompanied by comprehensive notes commissioned specially for the album.
This crowning achievement, released in celebration of AAM's 50th anniversary, is the culmination of a monumental 30-year project. ‘This cycle is a central element both in Christopher Hogwood's legacy as founder and director of AM and within my own career,’ comments Levin. ‘The completion of this cycle represents the successful realisation of a project of outstanding significance.’
The collaboration between AAM's visionary founder, Christopher Hogwood, and the esteemed scholar-pianist Robert Levin began in 1993 with the ambitious goal of recording Mozart's complete works for keyboard and orchestra. Levin's interpretation breathed new life into these timeless compositions by reinstating improvisation as a central element, echoing Mozart's original intent. All concertos were recorded with improvised cadenzas, and decorative ornamentation was applied throughout, recreating the approach Mozart would have taken. Over seven years, Levin and AAM crafted eight albums, encompassing 17 of Mozart’s concertos, garnering praise from experts as the pinnacle of the historical performance movement. Now, more than two decades later, AAM and Levin have fulfilled their mission, delivering the final concertos, lesser-known gems, and fragments across five albums (AAM0041-45), to widespread critical acclaim.
With this remarkable achievement, the cycle stands as the definitive recording of Mozart's complete keyboard and orchestra works.
Tracks
[1–3] Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major K503
[4] Ch’io mi scordi di te? – Non temer, amato bene K505
[5–7] Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major K595
