Three other great recordings
Pamela Frank (violin) No one conveys the uncontainable joy of Mozart’s zestful concerto series with such infectious vitality as Pamela Frank and David Zinman’s Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. Although played on an historically appropriate scale, they just can’t help but ‘magic’ phrases in a way more redolent of the golden age. This reaches its apex in the central Adagio of K216, with its muted strings and flutes emulating gentle summer breezes. The way Frank intuitively shapes the skin-tingling move into B minor and beyond is perfection. (Arte Nova G010001193190G)
Arthur Grumiaux (violin) Like Augustin Dumay, whose recordings of Concertos Nos 2–5 for DG are required listening, Grumiaux plays with an enchantingly pure-toned cantabile radiance. Combining gently cushioned bow-stokes with mediumfast vibrato and tasteful portamentos, he never seems to stop ‘singing’ as he exalts in Mozart’s exuberant invention. Those with a predilection for scaledback textures might find the 1960s London Symphony Orchestra a shade generous in its responses, yet under Colin Davis’s sensitive direction the results possess an inner sparkle. (Decca 438 3232)
Isabelle Faust (violin) Those wanting something closer to the kinds of sounds and interpretative rhetoric familiar in Mozart’s own time should investigate this highly acclaimed set with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini. Faust fills out Mozart’s melodic lines where appropriate (most enchantingly in the central Adagio of K207), keeps slow movements flowing felicitously and focuses on the dynamic range from mezzo forte downwards rather than the upward thrust of more traditional readings. Her alluring sound is immaculately tuned and deftly articulated. (Harmonia Mundi HMC 902230.31)
And one to avoid…
On paper this set with Yehudi Menuhin, the Bath Festival Orchestra and Rudolph Barshai looks like a sure-fire winner, and Menuhin’s charismatic presence almost carries the day. His affection for these delightful scores, which he had played countless times before setting down this complete cycle in the early 1960s, is everywhere apparent. Yet sadly, the slight fraying of his bowing technique, barely noticeable in other contexts, was placed cruelly under the spotlight by Mozart’s crystalclear violin writing, resulting in an occasional infelicity of tonal contact.