"Bravo Mozart!" exclaimed Emperor Joseph II as he stood up and tipped his hat at the end of the first performance of Piano Concerto No. 18 KV 456 , played by Mozart himself on 30 September 1784. Less than a year later, the composer pens his iconic 21st concerto, which is performed here by the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg conducted by Howard Griffiths, and pianist Jonathan Fournel. Winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2021, the French pianist has already made a Brahms recording for Alpha (ALPHA851). At the age of 30, he is developing a highly promising career, impressing audiences at every one of his concerts.

"Strauss: Metamorphoses & Wind Sonatina No. 1" is the second album in a series of six that the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg will release on the Berlin Classics label until 2025. For this album, the orchestra has chosen the internationally renowned conductor Riccardo Minasi. Originally, a concert under his baton was to take place at Salzburg's "Großes Festspielhaus" in the 2020/21 season, but like so many events, it had to be canceled. Instead, the decision was made to record with repertoire whose instrumentation sizes were appropriate to the conditions: Richard Strauss "Metamorphosen" for 23 solo strings and the first Sonatina for 16 wind instruments. The repertoire thus selected highlights the individual sections of the orchestra, strings and winds, and illustrates the orchestra's flexibility in seemingly effortlessly realigning itself for the repertoire at hand. It further demonstrates that the orchestra's constant preoccupation with its core repertoire informs its approach to the music of later eras - impressively heard on the current album of High Romantic music by the late Richard Stauss.

The Mozarteumorchester Salzburg looks back on a history of more than 180 years. It was founded in 1841 with the involvement of Constanze Mozart. Today it enjoys a worldwide reputation for its lively and purposeful Mozart interpretations. Its permanent guest conductors include Constantinos Carydis, Andrew Manze, and the Spanish conductor and violinist Roberto González-Monjas. They all contribute to the orchestra's ability to constantly regroup and align itself for the repertoire at hand. Of course, the constant preoccupation with the classical period is part of the formative element, but in the meantime the orchestra is also appreciated for interpretations of the music of the 19th/20th and 21st centuries. Together with the Berlin Classics label, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg will embark on an exciting journey starting in August 2023. With six album releases planned through 2025, the orchestra will be able to show its full range and passion for playing.

The Orpheum Foundation, which has been supporting young musicians for more than thirty years, has joined forces with Alpha Classics for a series of recordings devoted to Mozart’s concertos for various instruments. The finest soloists of the young generation have been selected under the artistic direction of Howard Griffiths, a renowned Mozart conductor, who considers that playing his music is like ‘looking in a mirror: you can hear if everything is in place, musicality, intonation, rhythm, phrasing’. For this fifth volume, the American pianist Claire Huangci joins the Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg and Howard Griffiths, her mentor for the past ten years. For her, she says, these concertos are ‘true musical revelations, works full of virtuosity and imagination’.

Following on from her debut album impressions, featuring chamber music for bassoon and piano, bassoon player Sophie Dervaux is poised to release her second album on the Berlin Classics label. This album marks two premieres: in addition to this being the very first recording of the Concerto no. 2 in C major for bassoon and orchestra by Johann Baptist Vanhal, Ms Dervaux performs as both soloist and conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg.

The Orpheum Foundation, which has been supporting young musicians for more than thirty years, has joined forces with Alpha Classics for a complete series of recordings devoted to Mozart's solo concertos. The best soloists of the young generation have been selected under the artistic direction of Howard Griffiths, a renowned Mozart conductor, who considers that playing his music is like "looking in a mirror: you can hear if everything is right, musicality, intonation, rhythm, phrasing"… These albums will immortalize this unforgiving challenge and reveal the great virtuosos of tomorrow. Performing concertos for violin, bassoon and piano, with Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, are Ziyu He, Theo Plath and Mélodie Zhao.

As a special, connecting and autobiographical element for this recording, the beautiful city of Salzburg is a legendary and inspiring place that is deeply influenced by music history and which everyone involved in the production - from the composer, the conductor, the soloist to the orchestra musicians and the orchestra attendant - became hometown for at least an important period of life; in the actual as well as in the artistic sense.