Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 "Jeunehomme" & Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491

Album review

This is the final concerto recording by the late Lars Vogt, made at his insistence despite considerable difficulties as he was undergoing cancer treatment; he conducts the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris as well as playing the solo part. It is no surprise that the album vaulted onto classical best-seller lists soon after its release in the summer of 2023, for it has a truly haunting quality. Vogt includes the most serious of the Mozart concertos, the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, and this performance has all the gravity one might expect. Perhaps even more extraordinary, though, is the reading of the Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, K. 271, the first of Mozart's mature concertos and one of the most expansive in structure. Sample the opening movement, where every detail in the orchestral exposition is carefully shaped and held in reserve for later exploration by the piano. It is an extraordinarily dense performance but one that never loses a sense of grace, and it is one for the ages. It is hard not to feel a sense of sadness while hearing this music, but that sadness is fully counterbalanced by joy.

© James Manheim /TiVo