German Pianist, Lars Vogt, Performs Mozart's Piano Concerto in C Major

One of the leading pianists of his generation, Lars Vogt is a sought-after artist in a range of repertoire, acclaimed for his "powerfully rich tone" (Los Angeles Times) and "understated, stylish conviction" (Gramophone). Here, he turns his to two of Mozart's piano concertos, in performances with Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. The new recording from CAvi-music is available nowfrom Allegro Classical.

Mozart's Piano Concerto in C Major, K467, was composed in Vienna at the peak of the composer's popular success, soon before he would write Le Nozze di Figaro. The festive concerto includes luxurious scoring for trumpets and timpani, and draws its energy from what Vogt calls "cheerful, open-hearted joy." The simply beautiful work contained no cadenzas and Vogt has supplied his own: "I find out which musical idea I find important, and then I try to bathe it in a personal color."

The Piano Concerto in B flat major, K595, has a melancholoy feel, having been written near the end of Mozart's life, when his star was shining much less brightly. Each of these two concertos is an "absolute masterpiece of music history," says Vogt, "The themes have an incredible soulfulness about them. Each one is a stroke of genius, going straight to the heart."

Lars Vogt's previous recordings for Cavi-music include a disc of solo Schubert sonatas ("Vogt's playing communicates poise and mechanical security in every bar, intelligently passionate." - Audiophile Audition). Among his fifteen discs for the EMI label are Beethoven Concertos 1 & 2 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, who has described Vogt as "one of the most extraordinary musicians of any age group that I have had the fortune to be associated with."

This season, Lars Vogt performs in Amsterdam, London, China, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris and Vienna, with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, where he will be artist-in-residence. He also makes an appearance with the NHK Symphony in Tokyo and in the US with the Boston and St Louis Symphony Orchestras. Vogt continues to develop his new role as conductor and director from the keyboard with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Arte del Mondo, Cologne Chamber Orchestra and the Northern Sinfonia. He also undertakes several chamber projects including recitals with Ian Bostridge in Edinburgh Festival, and Klaus Maria Brandauer in Vienna, as well concerts in North America with Christian Tetzlaff.