BIS Records Asu: CD-levy Vuosi: 2024, 08.11.2024 Kieli: und
Gramophone Magazine
January 2025
Editor's choice
Alec Frank-Gemmill (horn), Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, K. 412 & 514: I. Allegro, K. 412
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Major, K. 211: II. Adagio (Arr. for Horn & Orch by Alec Frank-Gemmill and Stephen Roberts)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Stephen Roberts: Horn Concerto No. 1 in D Major, K. 412 & 514: II. Rondo. Allegro, K. 514
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K417
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, K447
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K495
Mozart: Horn Concerto in E-Flat Major, K. 370b & K. 371 “No. 0”: I. [Allegro], K. 370b (Reconstr. by Stephen Roberts)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Stephen Roberts: Horn Concerto in E-Flat Major, K. 370b & K. 371 “No. 0": II. Rondeau. Allegro, K. 371 (Compl. by Stephen Roberts)
After Alec Frank-Gemmill's critically acclaimed recordings of nineteenth-century works for horn and piano (BIS-2228), chamber music by Brahms (BIS-2478) and pre-Mozart horn concertos (BIS-2315), a version of Mozart's famous horn concertos from him has been eagerly awaited. As on his disc of concertante works, he is accompanied here by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by an expert in 18th-century style, Nicholas McGegan.
Mozart's relationship with the Viennese horn player Joseph Leutgeb was both a friendly and a musical one, and most of the works here were written especially for him. Spanning some ten years, from 1781 to the composer's death, the four standard concertos and other fragments follow Mozart's stylistic development, and are thus contemporary with the operatic trilogy with libretti by Da Ponte, the final symphonies and the last piano concertos. Elegant, refined and suave, the horn concertos take advantage of the unique colours of this instrument and do not shy away from the it's traditional associations with the postal service and hunting.
In addition to Mozart's four 'official' concertos, this recording also includes movements left in draft form, completed and restored by the composer and horn-player Stephen Roberts, giving us a further work here named 'Concerto No. 0'.
"His virtuosity is remarkable, not only in terms of surmounting the technical challenges that Mozart threw at his favourite horn player, Joseph Leutgeb, but also for the expressive and dynamic range of his playing." - Gramophone Magazine, January 2025
