Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 22 & 24

After collaborating with Kent Nagano and the MSO on the two Chopin concertos, Montreal pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin tackles two of Mozart’s most important concertos, this time in association with Jonathan Cohen, conductor of Les Violons du Roy and a specialist in early music renowned for his historically informed musical practices. One of the composer’s longest, Concerto No. 22 is also the first of the series of great Viennese concertos to incorporate the clarinet into the orchestra, while Concerto No. 24 is, along with No. 20, the only one in this production to be in a minor key – a rarity. The latter’s dramatic and sombre character is matched by the energetic gaiety and lyricism of the former, whose connections with the overture to the opera Le nozze di Figaro, composed the same year, are undeniable. Also worthy of mention are the cadenzas of the concertos, unique and composed by Charles Richard-Hamelin.