Well, for those not in the know, internationally acclaimed pianist Benjamin Hochman brings his new conductorial skills to the impeccable release of two Mozart concertos, the joyful and lithe No. 17 in G major, and the dark and explosive No. 24 in C minor.

Directing from the keyboard, Benjamin leads the finest Mozartian orchestra in the world, the English Chamber Orchestra and trust me when I say that classical music doesn't get any better than this!

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K453 (29:06)
I. Allegro (11:49)
II. Andante (9:36)
III. Allegro - Presto (7:41)

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K491 (30:10)
I. Allegro (13:56)
II. Larghetto (7:18)
III. Allegretto (8:56)

Backed by the best Mozartian orchestra in the world, together with the English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Hochman's quite exquisite Mozart: Piano Concertos 17 & 24 (released this past October 4th, 2019 via AVIE Records) is a luscious joy to behold from start to finish.

Opening with Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K453 - a work that is said to have been premiered by Mozart's student Barbara Ployer on June 13th, 1784, at a concert to which Mozart had invited Giovanni Paisiello to hear both her and his new compositions; including also his recently written Quintet in E flat for Piano and Winds - Hochman's dulcet, flirtatious key work is simply breathtaking to behold.

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K491 continues to allow Hochman's expertise to breathe and shine accordingly. A concerto composed for the keyboard (back then, usually a piano or fortepiano) and orchestra, Mozart composed the concerto in the winter of 1785–1786, finishing it on March 24th, 1786, three weeks after completing his Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major.

As we all know by now, as he intended to perform the work himself, Mozart did not write out the soloist's part in full, but here Hochman with the seamlessly superb backing of the ECO veritably hop, skips and jumps his way through all that the great man had laid before him.

"I chose to record these two concertos because to me they are mirror images of each other." Hochman himself has said. "The G major is full of sunshine and joy, but it also has these moments of darkness that show complexity, whereas the C minor is essentially tragic, full of fury and storm, yet it also has moments of calm and resignation; including much of the slow movement."

"Also, the last movements of the two concertos are both in variation form- the only two final movements of Mozart Piano Concertos that are variations."

"For these reasons, the two concertos really complement each other very well."

Official CD Purchase Link

www.BenjaminHochman.com