Mozart Momentum 1785

Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes' double album represents Mozart's most creative period with an interesting selection of works. Mozart's creative power literally exploded in the Viennese years of 1785 and 1786, and Leif Ove Andsnes explores this phenomenon with the "Mozart Momentum" project together with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. "When you notice how quickly Mozart developed in the early years of the 1780s, you ask yourself: how did this happen? And - what happened? It's about the incredible dynamics of his creativity in that very period," says Leif Ove Andsnes. Because in the years 1785 and 1786, Mozart wrote a series of masterpieces in Vienna and revolutionized the form of the piano concerto. With the five concertos Nos. 20-24, Mozart began to rethink the roles of soloist and orchestra, developing the dialogue between the two in a way that had not existed before: "With the Piano Concerto No. 20, he separates the soloist more from the orchestra. The first appearance of the soloist in this piece has a very different music than what you have heard from the orchestra. This is the moment that points to the future and development of the piano concerto and the beginning of the romantic piano concerto." In the following four piano concertos, Mozart tested the concerto form to its limits and also presented audiences of the time with new emotional demands when listening to this music. "There was new creative energy in the air," Andsnes says. "Mozart seems to have gone deeper and deeper into the music and its expressive possibilities, trying out new techniques. I don't know of any music that offers such emotional variety." The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a first-class and experienced partner of Leif Ove Andsnes for this project. "Mozart Momentum 1785" is the first of two releases exploring these remarkable years. The double album includes the three Piano Concertos Nos. 20-22 (thus also the famous "Elvira Madigan" Piano Concerto No. 21), the Piano Quartet in G minor, the rarely heard, smaller-scored Maurerische Trauermusik K. 477, and the Fantasia in C minor K. 475 for solo piano.