Mozart: The Violin Concertos

Mozart was an excellent violinist, and was still a teenager when he wrote these five violin concertos for his personal use in concerts. The French violinist Renaud Capuçon performs them as Mozart himself would have done, with a moderately sized orchestra and no conductor. The results are wonderfully relaxed and intimate, a feast of sophisticated, collegial musicmaking. The unassuming finale of Concerto No. 2 is charming and affable in Capuçon’s affectionate interpretation, and he lends elegance and decorum to No. 5’s concluding “Rondeau”, a movement whose playful sense of humour is never overstated. In slow movements Capuçon is equally effective, his sweet, seductive tone weaving a particular poetry in Concerto No. 3’s “Adagio”. The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra lends refined support throughout, adding further to the attractions of these satisfyingly warm, urbane performances.