Evgeni Bozhanov / Kammerorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks / Radoslaw Szulc DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Concerto op. 35 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Piano Concerto K453

This Profil album couples a piano concerto each from Mozart and Shostakovich, works written around 150 years apart. The two concertos are live recordings taken from a Sunday mid-day concert at Prinzregententheater. Also on the programme, though not included here, were the Gideon Klein Partita für streicher nach trio für violine, viola und cello and Haydn’s Symphony No. 81. The piano soloist is the Bulgarian Evgeni Bozhanov, performing with the Kammerorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under its artistic director and founder Radoslaw Szulc. I note that the Polish born Szulc is principal concertmaster of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. In the Shostakovich, the German soloist Hannes Läubin is principal trumpet of the renowned Bavarian orchestra.

Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 was composed in Vienna in 1784, a most productive time in his career especially for piano concertos – it is one of six he wrote that year. It was premièred the same year at Döbling on the city outskirts and introduced by his piano pupil Barbara (Babette) Ployer, for whom it was written.

In the opening Allegro Evgeni Bozhanov displays a buoyancy that feels bold and determined and best of all, in the Andante the soloist gives a heart rending performance. In the Finale, a variation movement, the theme is reminiscent of Papageno’s first aria from Die Zauberflöte and there is plenty of verve in Bozhanov’s engaging playing. The competition in the record catalogue amongst recommendable accounts of Mozart piano concertos is fierce. With No. 17 in G major, soloist Mitsuko Uchida directing the Cleveland Orchestra from the piano is my first port of call for playing of such remarkable artistry and insights. Coupled with No. 25 in C major, the live recording from 2016 at Severance Hall, Cleveland is an album forming part of her Decca Classic series of Mozart piano concertos.

Shostakovich’s two piano concertos, composed some twenty-four years apart, have become established as much-loved works in the concert hall. The four-movement First Concerto scored for piano, trumpet and string orchestra was premièred in 1933. It may have been written in the shadow of the oppressive Soviet regime that prevailed, but its mood of riotous enjoyment certainly doesn’t reflect the dark terror of those times. Notable in Bozhanov’s performance is his energetic and often exhilarating playing of the free spirited opening movement. There is real intensity in the following Lento with intensely affecting playing that creates a near sinister quality. A curious claustrophobic quality is created in the short Moderato while the unsettling Finale benefits from committed playing of real integrity. Trumpeter Hannes Läubin excels with brilliant and striking playing throughout. Since its release in 1983, my first choice recording of the Shostakovich piano concertos has been the accounts by Dmitri Alexeev with the English Chamber Orchestra under Jerzy Maksymiuk on Classics For Pleasure (c/w The Assault on Beautiful Gorky, Jazz Suite No. 1, Tahiti Trot). It offers accomplished playing of keen purpose.

Despite the excellence of the performances on the present disc, it’s a real shame they are overshadowed by sound quality that is unacceptable, mainly for its over-closeness. This produces an excruciating fierceness in the louder passages, especially noticeable in the Mozart concerto. In addition, I find the clarity and balance excessively variable, too. Overall the sound quality is so uncomfortable it spoils my whole listening experience. No better is the accompanying booklet with an essay containing little useful information about the works. The sloppily presented album even gives Mozart’s date of death incorrectly on the rear CD cover. Sadly, the verdict is Caveat emptor! (Michael Cookson)

Daniel Lozakovich JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 - Partita No. 2

Debut album by the next young and talented violinist on Deutsche Grammophon, following the successful footsteps of Anne-Sophie Mutter and David Garrett who both joined the label as youngsters.

The youngest musician currently signed to Deutsche Grammophon (born in 2001).

Daniel Lozakovich is a mature core-classic artist and young sports fan at the same time.

Multi-award winner, including the 1st prize at the 2016 Vladimir Spivakov International Violin Competition.

Praised by audiences and critics alike (Lozakovich is destined for a prodigious career).

Many supporters, including Valery Gergiev, Martin Engstroem, Daniel Hope, Andris Nelsons, Daniel Barenboim, Renaud Capuçon. (Presto Classical)

Already the winner of many awards for young musicians and at 17 the youngest artist on Deutsche Grammophon's roster, Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich already enjoys an impressive performance schedule as a young soloist with orchestras and conductors worldwide. He is also a regular performer at multiple international music festivals. In his debut album for Deutsche Grammophon, Daniel presents Bach’s two violin concertos in collaboration with the Kammerorchester des Symphonieorchesters des Bayerischen Rundfunks together with the solo Partita No. 2, which includes the famous Chaconne. (Deutsche Grammophon)

Lisa Batiashvili BACH

While violinist Lisa Batiashvili has recorded mostly Romantic and modernist music, she has chosen to perform works by J.S. Bach for her third album on Deutsche Grammophon, signaling an expansion of a repertoire that is already quite varied. Even the selections on this 2014 release show a preference for a mix of pieces, with only the Violin Concerto in E major, the solo Violin Sonata in A minor, and the Sinfonia from the cantata Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe to showcase her talents as soloist. The rest of her program features her husband, oboist François Leleux, in the Double Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor, and the aria from the St. Matthew Passion, Erbarme dich, mein Gott, which he plays on oboe d'amore; and the Trio for flute, violin, and continuo in B minor by C.P.E. Bach, with flutist Emmanuel Pahud. Batiashvili generously shares the spotlight with these musicians, and their inclusion gives the whole CD an enjoyable feeling of conversation and flexibility of approach, which a straight run of violin concertos would have lacked. One drawback is the sound of the recording, which is echoic and a little indistinct, due to the resonant acoustics of the venues. Otherwise, this is a vibrant and appealing mainstream presentation of Bach that shows Batiashvili and her colleagues in a positive light. (Blair Sanderson)

For her first Bach recording, Lisa Batiashvili has chosen [a program] to demonstrate her refined musicianship and technical skills in a range of contexts, as well as her good taste. In the concertos' quick movements she offers a sweet, light tone and clearly but gently detailed articulation, using vibrato only when there seems good reason to . . . slow movements are more openly expressive, with Batiashvili at one moment playing out with controlled gorgeousness, the next retreating into rapt and intimate pianissimo. The sonata really shows her at her best, with effortless mastery lending an unusual sense of easeful calm to the music while still contributing towards a fiery Fuga and a delicate and loving Andante. This is fine playing indeed . . . a disc full of classy music-making. (Lindsay Kemp / Gramophone Awards Issue)

Bizjak Piano Duo MARTINU - POULENC - SHOSTAKOVICH - STRAVINSKY

Since winning two prizes at the ARD International Music Competition in 2005, Serbian sisters Sanja and Lidija Bizjak have achieved worldwide praise for their solo piano and piano duo performances alike: “brilliant sound, precise fingerwork, and excellent listening skills” – The Independent. For their debut recording on Onyx, they have created a superb programme consisting of two concertos for two pianos and orchestra by Poulenc and Martinu to frame compositions for two pianos alone: Stravinsky’s 'Sonata' and Shostakovich’s rarely heard 'Concertino'. The sisters have appeared at the BBC Proms to great acclaim in Saint-Saens’ 'Carnival of the Animals'.

The Serbian sisters Lidija and Sanja Bizjak have achieved worldwide praise for their performances alike (‘brilliant sound, precise fingerwork and excellent listening skills’ – The Independent). For their debut recording on Onyx, they have created a superb programme consisting of two concertos for two pianos and orchestra by Poulenc & Martinu° to frame two works for two pianos alone – Stravinsky’s Sonata and Shostakovich’s rarely heard Concertino.

Lisa Batiashvili BACH

For her first Bach recording, Lisa Batiashvili has chosen not to run through all the concertos or the solo violin works but to be selective, choosing the E major Concerto, the A minor Sonata and the Violin and Oboe Concerto (with husband François Leleux), and adding in a concerto movement from a cantata and an arrangement of ‘Erbarme dich’ in which Leleux’s oboe d’amore takes the contralto’s place. For good measure there is a trio sonata for flute and violin by CPE Bach in his 300th anniversary year. No one could call it a lazily made programme, though whether it is one that really hangs together is a little questionable.

What it does do is allow Batiashvili to demonstrate her refined musicianship and technical skills in a range of contexts, as well as her good taste. In the concertos’ quick movements she offers a sweet, light tone and clearly but gently detailed articulation, using vibrato only when there seems good reason to. You sense a self-effacing and meticulous politeness between the performers here, as if no one wants to stand on anyone else’s toes, but slow movements are more openly expressive, with Batiashvili at one moment playing out with controlled gorgeousness, the next retreating into rapt and intimate pianissimo. The sonata really shows her at her best, with effortless mastery lending an unusual sense of easeful calm to the music while still contributing towards a fiery Fuga and a delicate and loving Andante. This is fine playing indeed.

The CPE Bach is an odd choice, more at the JS end of his style and not among his most interesting works, though more varied articulation from Pahud might have made it more so. Never mind – this is still a disc full of classy music-making.