Mozart composed this concerto at the end of 1773, about the same time as the “little G minor” Symphony No. 25, as shows about as much promise of genius and fun as the symphony.
The great virtuoso Malcolm Frager beautifully scales back his formidable technique to play this rather simple and charming concerto with terrific wit and a smile.
Malcolm Frager was born in 1935, started studying the piano at six, and at 10 he had his premiere with the St. Louis Symphony. Carl Friedberg, a pupil and freind of Clara Schumann, was his teacher at Juilliard and trained him in the great Romantic traditon.
Mozart Piano Concerto In D Major, K. 175 No.5, first movement: Allegro
Malcolm Frager, Steinway piano, with the orchestra of Italian Language Radio and Television of Switzerland, under Marc Andreae.
Recorded Live at the Teatro Scientifico Del Bibiena, Mantua, 19 April 1989.
Orchestra della Radio-televisione della Svizzera Italiana, Leitung: Marc Andreae
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Klavierkonzert Nr. 05, D-Dur, KV 175