The Mozart's Violin title of this cycle of Mozart's violin concertos by Christoph Koncz, playing violin and leading the historical-instrument ensemble Les Musiciens du Louvre, is not a vague marketing concept. Koncz plays a violin owned by Mozart, very likely the one the composer played in the premiere performances of the five concertos. The instrument, built in Bavaria in the middle 18th century, probably belonged to Leopold Mozart, and Wolfgang gave it to his sister Nannerl when he moved to Vienna; from there, it took a winding road before being acquired by the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1956. It apparently had not been played for decades or even centuries when Koncz asked for and received permission to use it. The album comes with descriptions of how the wood took time to condition as Koncz played it, with no shoulder rest as Mozart seems to have done. Whatever the situation, the instrument has an attractive sound that combines the rough quality of gut-strung Baroque violins with the brilliant top characteristically appearing in modern-instrument performances of Mozart. The results are appealing for general listeners beyond the historical-performance crowd, as Koncz and Les Musiciens du Louvre, generously sized by historical-performance standards, achieve the sweet lyricism usually associated with these concertos in the modern era without losing the rhythmic vitality of historical performances. There could be a bit more of that vitality in the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 ("Turkish"), but, in general, these are performances that both common audiences and historical-performance devotees will enjoy. The sound from the 19th century Großer Saal of the Mozarteum is too live and spacious, not idiomatic to the music.
© TiVo