Johannes Hinterholzer - Mozart, W.A.: Horn Concertos Nos. 1-4 / Rondo in E-Flat Major, K. 371 (2006)

Now, this is a superb disc by the Mozarteum-Orchester Salzburg led by Ivor Bolton. Too often before, Bolton and his light-toned and supple Austrian orchestra have gone wandering in the Brucknerian Alps...and gotten lost in the Adagios. But here they are at home among the bucolic beauties and pastoral pleasures of Mozart's horn concertos. Smoothly and brilliantly performed with soul and panache by the young Johannes Hinterholzer, the orchestra's co-principal hornist, the concertos sound sweet, witty, kindly, and even occasionally a bit bumptious -- some of Hinterholzer's self-composed cadenzas are every now and again a bit too outré. And the Mozarteum-Orchestra, safely removed from the high Romantic peaks, sounds soft, warm, graceful, and elegant, while Bolton, with his gentle gestures, affectionate phrasing, and deep-in-the-groove tempos sounds like a man in love. Captured in Oehms' rich, evocative 2005 recording, Hinterholzer, Bolton, and the Mozarteum-Orchestra's horn concertos may not displace the greatest performances of the past -- Tuckwell, Civil, and Brain's -- but his recording should be heard by anyone who loves the works, especially since it contains not only the four standard concertos and rondo, but also fresh reconstructions of a Rondeau and an Allegro moderato for an unfinished fifth concerto. © TiVo