Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concertos Complete

For the first time, Mozart’s five Violin Concertos have been recorded on the composer’s own violin. Christoph Koncz, conductor and a principal violinist of the Vienna Philharmonic, was granted exclusive access to the instrument by the Mozarteum Foundation, which has owned it since 1956.Mozart wrote his five concertos in 1773 and 1775 for himself to play, as concertmaster of the Salzburg Court Orchestra. At the time, he was using the violin, made by the Klotz family as a copy of a Jacob Stainer instrument. ‘There’s a close connection between these concertos and this instrument,’ says Koncz.The violin has survived with remarkably little intervention, effectively retaining its original condition. Playing it for the first time in 2012 was ‘very moving and inspiring’ for Koncz.It became Koncz’s dream to record the Mozart concertos on the instrument, but he insisted on assembling the right team of musicians and undertaking painstaking research. He called on the period-instrument players of Les Musiciens de Louvre to record the works with the same forces Mozart used and to create the most ‘authentic experience as possible’. Thus, Koncz directed the works from the instrument as Mozart would have done, at the same pitch, in the same orchestral setting and according to historic performance practice with cadenzas in the composer’s own style. But the central message of the recording, says Koncz, is ‘the sound of the violin.’The silvery tone in the instrument’s upper register may have influenced Mozart’s tendency to dwell on higher notes in the works. ‘In his violin concertos he was fond of using the instrument’s upper tessitura and coloratura register, which is where his violin sounds particularly beautiful,’ says Koncz.But the instrument has also opened Koncz’s ears and eyes to countless other attributes in these consistently enchanting concertos: their Italian stylistic features, their origins in baroque music and their singing, operatic qualities. He hopes his recording will ‘contribute to the way Mozart is understood and researched’, while inspire the listeners of today in its sincerity.Playing anything on this priceless artifact is a challenge. The weight of the composer’s legacy and skill weighs heavily. But there are also two staff members of the Mozarteum Foundation present whenever the instrument is played. ‘Every time I practiced, there were always at least two people waiting for me to get better!’ says Koncz.