Robert Levin and the Academy of Ancient Music’s marvellous return to Mozart — review

Back in 1993 fortepiano specialist Robert Levin and the Academy of Ancient Music embarked on recording a complete cycle of Mozart’s piano concertos. From the outset, their lively and spontaneous performances promised one of the finest of all recorded cycles.

Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the way through, the project fell victim to a downturn in the record industry. It has taken a 20-year hiatus to regain the momentum — and more importantly the funding — to bring this cycle to its long-awaited conclusion.

Levin and the AAM are now on the home straight, though sadly without conductor Christopher Hogwood, who died in 2014. Richard Egarr, the AAM’s current music director, takes his place for the last five discs, which will include four major concertos, lesser-known works and a recently identified first concerto movement by the eight-year-old Mozart.

This handsomely packaged disc pairs two of the concertos from Mozart’s golden period — No 21 in C, K467 and No 24 in C Minor, K491 — in marvellously satisfying performances that are always full of surprises.

It is widely accepted that Mozart would have improvised much of his solo keyboard parts in performance (the manuscript scores can be quite sketchy) and Levin is the leading exponent in recreating the Mozart style on the spot. Throw in expressive playing from the AAM and these performances have plenty of character, the C Major bright and spirited, the dark C Minor foreshadowing the Romantic era. The remaining four discs are eagerly awaited.

★★★★★

‘Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos 21 and 24’ is released by AAM