Soloist: Kremer, Gidon

Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Harnoncourt, Nikolaus

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Composer: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 211

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Venue: Grosser Musikvereinssaal, Vienna

Date of Concert: 1984

Playing Time: 00:20:43

Television Director: Greenberg, Rodney

Producer: Hohlfeld, Horant

Catalogue Number: A05500742

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The Violin Concertos K. 211, 216, 218 and 219 were all composed within a few months, between June and December 1775, while Mozart was in the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The Violin Concerto No. 2 radiates a distinctly galant atmosphere reminiscent of the French style of violin playing. Dazzling and elegant, it gives the soloist luminous passages such as the minor-key melody in the first movement and the main melody of the Andante. The concluding Rondo again recalls the brilliance of the French style. After having devoted himself to Baroque music for many years, Nikolaus Harnoncourt began turning increasingly to the orchestral works of Mozart in the 1980s. Here, too, Harnoncourt's views differed radically from those of traditional Mozart reception. For him, Mozart is "the most romantic composer of all," his music "dramatic, dynamic, often strikingly and exceedingly emotional."

In Gidon Kremer, Harnoncourt found a partner who shared his views. The German-Russian violin virtuoso has also sought his own path in his Mozart interpretations. In 1970 the then 23-year-old virtuoso attained the first peak of his career by winning the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has since become one of the most sought-after violinists in the world. It should also be noted that the Vienna Philharmonic, celebrated for its natural and graceful Mozart style, initially opposed Harnoncourt's unconventional concepts. However, the orchestra was soon won over by the unusual stylistic approach with which Harnoncourt often concertizes today.