Mozart: Piano Concertos K. 238 & 503 Kristian Bezuidenhout & Freiburger Barockorchester

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Piano Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major, K. 238:
• 1 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major, K. 238: I. Allegro aperto 06:27
• 2 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major, K. 238: II. Andante un poco adagio 05:39
• 3 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major, K. 238: III. Rondeau. Allegro 07:40
• Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503:
• 4 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503: I. Allegro maestoso 14:14
• 5 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503: II. Andante 07:14
• 6 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503: III. Allegretto 08:46
• Total Runtime 50:00

Info for Mozart: Piano Concertos K. 238 & 503

From the youthful Concerto no.6 (1776) to the almost testamentary Concerto no.25 (1786), Mozart's style underwent considerable evolution. In ten years, the young prodigy gave way to a master fully aware that he was opening up new horizons for the genre. With this fourth album in their series, Kristian Bezuidenhout and the Freiburger Barockorchester continue their exploration of a corpus visited so many times before; but with them, we have the impression we are rediscovering each note as if it were 'the first time'.

The fourth instalment of Kristian Bezuidenhout’s Mozart concerto series brings together two works separated by 10 years in the composer’s creative life. The Piano Concerto in B flat K238, composed in 1776 and often numbered as his sixth piano concerto, was in fact Mozart’s second original work in the form – the earliest examples he composed are now reckoned to be arrangements of keyboard sonatas by JC Bach and other composers – while K503 in C major was written a decade later in Vienna.

For these historically aware performances, Bezuidenhout plays a modern copy of an 1808 fortepiano that was made in Vienna by Anton Walter, whose instruments Mozart admired. It’s certainly an appropriate instrument for the grand gestures of K503, though K238 may have been intended for a more modest “square piano”. Both works are presented with Bezuidenhout’s usual cool precision, and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra make equally stylish partners.

"Both works are presented with Bezuidenhout’s usual cool precision, and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra make equally stylish partners." (The Guardian)

Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano
Freiburger Barockorchester

Kristian Bezuidenhout
is one of today’s most notable and exciting keyboard artists, equally at home on the fortepiano, harpsichord, and modern piano. Born in South Africa in 1979, he began his studies in Australia, completed them at the Eastman School of Music, and now lives in London. After initial training as a pianist with Rebecca Penneys, he explored early keyboards, studying harpsichord with Arthur Haas, fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson, and continuo playing and performance practice with Paul O’Dette. Kristian first gained international recognition at the age of 21 after winning the prestigious first prize, and audience prize in the Bruges Fortepiano Competition.

Kristian is a regular guest with the world’s leading ensembles including the Freiburger Barockorchester, Les Arts Florissants, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestre des Champs Elysées, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester; and has guest-directed (from the keyboard) the English Concert, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Tafelmusik, Collegium Vocale, Juilliard 415 and the Kammerakademie Potsdam, & Dunedin Consort (Bach St. Matthew Passion).

He has performed with celebrated artists including John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe, Frans Brüggen, Trevor Pinnock, Giovanni Antonini, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Isabelle Faust, Alina Ibragimova, Rachel Podger, Carolyn Sampson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Mark Padmore & Matthias Goerne.

Kristian's rich and award-winning discography on Harmonia Mundi includes the complete keyboard music of Mozart (Diapason d’Or de L’année, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, & Caecilia Prize); Mozart Violin Sonatas with Petra Müllejans; Mendelssohn and Mozart Piano Concertos with the Freiburger Barockorchester (ECHO Klassik); Beethoven, & Mozart Lieder, and Schumann Dichterliebe with Mark Padmore (Edison Award). In 2013 he was nominated as Gramophone Magazine’s Artist of the Year. Recent releases include Volume 2 of Mozart Piano Concertos with the Freiburger Barockorchester.

In the 2017/18 season, Kristian becomes an Artistic Director of the Freiburger Barockorchester and Principal Guest Conductor with the English Concert. He play-directs programmes with both orchestras and also with Camerata Salzburg, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Zürcher Kammerorchester . As a soloist he performs with Orchestre des Champs Elysees/Herreweghe, Les Violons du Roy/Cohen and Le Concert Olympique/Caeyers. Solo recitals and chamber music take him to London, Rome, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Munich, Cologne, Berlin, USA and Japan.

Booklet for Mozart: Piano Concertos K. 238 & 503