Mikhail Pochekin - Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5, K. 219 & Sinfonia Concertante, K. 364 (2021)

Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first instrument was the piano, even as a child he revealed himself to be a highly gifted violinist. In this domain too he was encouraged by his father Leopold, well-known violin teacher in his own right and author of a violin method widely respected at the time. Even when Wolfgang was already 21, father Leopold reaffirmed his son’s violinistic talent, on 8 October 1777. ‘You don’t realize how good you are on the violin when you put your mind to it, playing with character, conviction and spirit, just as if you were the best violinist in Europe.’ That letter was written in the period between 1773 and 1779, when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed numerous works requiring string soloists. From April to December of 1775 alone, the 19-year-old penned 5 violin concertos, in an unbroken process as it were. At that time Mozart was employed as concertmaster by the archbishop’s court in Salzburg, where instrumental music was highly prized. He had, however, previously got to know the Italian tradition and art of the violin in situ, frequenting students of the famous Giuseppe Tartini there, such as Pietro Nardini and Gaetano Pugnani. On several occasions during his three journeys to Italy, he also met the Bohemian composer Josef Myslivecek, who cultivated the violin concerto genre intensively. Synthesizing the influence of Italian masters with that of Joseph Haydn, Johann Christian Bach and French violinists, Mozart composed his own concertos, which sparkle with vitality but are at the same time both intimate and graceful.

"The A-Major Violin Concerto and the Sinfonia Concertante by Mozart certainly belong to the works by Mozart that are particularly gladly heard and played. When the Pochekin brothers now present these two works, they do not offer, at least at first glance, a particularly attention-grabbing release. So the interpretations together with the agile and attentive chamber orchestra from Stuttgart are of the finest and leave nothing to be desired. But neither do they offer the news par excellence. With a lean chamber-music approach and playing focused on the statement without frippery, they rather offer a finely balanced yet lively view of the works.

The special feature here arises from the chosen cadenzas, which are by pianist Robert Levin. Last prominently recorded probably by Gidon Kremer and Nikolaus Harnoncourt in the eighties, they offer a more than welcome rehearing here. Levin modeled these cadenzas after those written and handed down by Mozart himself for his piano concertos. Since cadenzas were originally intended to be improvised by the performer in concert, musical history has seen a progression towards stylistic elements of the time of the particular soloist. Levin now took up Mozart’s ideas from the piano concertos, and thus stylistically and idiomatically appropriated his compositional technique. As a recognized connoisseur of Mozart’s music, he has succeeded in this in a special way. In doing so, he has offered several versions and possible combinations in each case, so that the improvisational character is still possible today, as each interpreter has a certain amount of freedom here.

In addition to the immersion in time, Levin thus also offers an overall concept that can only be partially understood with only two recorded works. These cadenzas may ultimately be more enriching for the expert than for a listener less attentive to subtleties. In any case, the recordings show successful performances of the works." (Uwe Krusch, pizzicato.lu)

Mikhail Pochekin, violin & direction (tracks 1-6)
Ivan Pochekin, viola (tracks 4-6)
Stuttgarter Kammerorchester

TRACKLIST

1. Mikhail Pochekin - I. Allegro aperto
2. Mikhail Pochekin - II. Adagio
3. Mikhail Pochekin - III. Rondeau. Tempo di menuetto
4. Ivan Pochekin - I. Allegro maestoso
5. Ivan Pochekin - II. Andante
6. Ivan Pochekin - III. Presto