The Academy of Ancient Music, the orchestra on this recording, has revived the 18th-century practice of improvised ornamentation within the orchestral parts, not just by the soloist.
Recording & Production
This album is part of a Mozart Piano Concerto cycle commissioned by Decca in the early 1990s, which was put on hiatus in 2000 and completed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recording & Production
During the recording sessions, Robert Levin would improvise multiple cadenzas for each movement, with the producer Adrian Peacock selecting from these various interpretations for the final release.
Album & Artwork
The cover art features Paul Klee's painting "Nochmals hoffend" (Hoping again), chosen for its defiant optimism, reflecting the album's completion despite challenges like the pandemic.
Interpretation
Robert Levin, the fortepiano soloist on this album, improvises all his cadenzas and 'lead-ins' (shorter cadenzas) in the style of Mozart, a practice common in the Classical period.
Instruments
The fortepiano used for these recordings is a 2018 Chris Maene replica of an Anton Walter instrument from 1795, a type admired and owned by Mozart himself.
Performer Biography
Robert Levin, the fortepiano soloist, was encouraged by his teacher Hans Swarowsky to learn improvisation by listening to Friedrich Gulda's Mozart concerto recordings.
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W.A. Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 21 in C Major, K. 467; Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-Flat Major, K. 595
