• Mozart, prominent in Vienna in the early 1780s as pianist, composer and teacher, was busy raising funds through subscription concerts, his own performances the star attraction. His father Leopold came to visit but grumbled that he felt neglected by the pace of life: “If only the concerts were over! It is impossible for me to describe the rush and bustle.” His son’s fortepiano was moved through the streets after him, from house to theatre, as required.
One concerto from that period, the sparklingly conversational K459 in F, and the later, majestic K595 in B flat feature on Mozart Piano Concertos Nos 19 & 27, Rondo K386 (Linn), with soloist Francesco Piemontesi and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Andrew Manze. Lithe and spirited, the SCO players make excellent companions for their Swiss soloist, a performer in total, joyful command of his material: scrupulous in detail, imaginative – but not to excess – in ornament and cadenza. Manze brings his period instrument expertise to proceedings, giving fresh insight to this beloved repertoire.
• Two of Brahms’s four symphonies – Nos 2 and 3 – were premiered in Vienna’s Musikverein. The building’s chamber music hall, the Brahms-Saal, is named after the composer who, like Mozart, was intimately associated both with venue and city. This should give a special quality of association to a new set of Brahms Symphonies by the Wiener Symphoniker conducted by Philippe Jordan, recorded live in the Musikverein’s celebrated Golden Hall on the orchestra’s own label.
And to a point it does. The emphasis is on warmth and blend; refinement, control and release rather than exhilaration or risk. Tempos are broad, on the whole, which won’t suit everyone. Enjoy, instead, the subtleties. If the First Symphony here feels tame, the Second is lyrical and well etched, the Third, though slow, impassioned and weighty, with particularly lovely woodwind playing. The Fourth is the highlight, a strong final calling card for the orchestra and its chief conductor (since 2014) as he enters his last season in the post.
• Catch up with the World Service’s Music Life (BBC Sounds), in which the composer Max Richter (Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, Ad Astra, Mary Queen of Scots) asks fellow film, stage and screen composers Hans Zimmer, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Angélica Negrón how they adapted their musical skills to the screen, and how they got their big breaks.
