The soloist in this concerto conducted by Karl Böhm and played by the
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is Maurizio Pollini, one of the most
enigmatic figures in today's musical world. Although he approaches the
repertoire in a profoundly spiritual manner, Pollini does not ban
brilliance and dazzling virtuosity from his playing. His lyrical and
intense art makes him predestined for Mozart, whose works he has been
interpreting in a completely new light for many years now.
Mozart wrote his concerto K. 459 in 1784 as one of the six concertos
written in that year for a series of subscription concerts in which he
regularly played a new work of his own creation. Its first movement begins
with a jaunty rhythm reminiscent of that used in the Symphonies K. 550
and 551. The orchestra claims equal partnership right away, the masterful
interplay of the winds, strings and solo instrument revealing the full
extent of Mozart's innovative treatment of the concerto form.
Maurizio Pollini first drew widespread attention when he won the first
prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1960 and was expressly praised
by Arthur Rubinstein, the president of the jury. Surprisingly, he turned
down the many offers of performances he then received in order to "listen"
and meditate. It was only after working with Michelangeli that he launched
his international career. A socially committed artist, he rejected all
forms of elitism. He has played for workers in factories and given concerts
to support political causes. In addition to the romantic repertoire, which
he masters superbly, he has always shown a predilection for contemporary
works, especially those of Stockhausen and Nono. He recorded this concerto
at Vienna's Musikvereinssaal in April 1976. Karl Böhm conducts the Vienna
Philharmonic.
