Mozart: Piano Concertos 22 and 18

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Avie / AV2200

Recorded live in November 2009 at the Sage Gateshead

'It’s the grandeur, the sheer scale of Mozart’s K482 Piano Concerto No 22 that makes it so appealing – and it’s in the key of E flat, which usually means that the all-important wind writing will be something special. And here, it is – after the opening tutti flourish we hear a simple descending phrase played on two horns, punctuated by bassoon. And when the first subject begins to unfold on orchestral strings, solo flute and clarinets add their voices, questioning and commenting on the musical material. It’s profound but also immensely accessible, qualities which Imogen Cooper and the Northern Sinfonia express with ease. The minor-key Andante is breathtakingly intense and precedes an effervescent 6/8 Allegro last movement –again, it’s the woodwind writing that really stands out here. Cooper is such a generous musician, willing to share the limelight with her orchestral musicians.

Cooper’s account of the earlier K456 concerto is also a delight – delicate, affectionate and witty. Another work constructed on a grand scale, there’s a similar prominence given to the orchestral wind writing, adding an irresistible plangent timbre to the sonorities. Magnificently played, generously accompanied and taped in the near-perfect acoustic of The Sage, Gateshead – what’s not to like?'

Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk, November 2010