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Mozart's Piano Concerto No.21 in Building a Library with Joanna MacGregor and Andrew McGregor

Pianist Joanna MacGregor joins Andrew McGregor to pick her favourite recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, and Keelan Carew assesses some of the week's new releases.

Andrew McGregor with the best new recordings of classical music.

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Keelan Carew joins Andrew for a look at some of the week's new releases.

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Building a Library
Pianist Joanna MacGregor picks her favourite from a selection of recordings of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467.

Mozart was riding the crest of his popularity as a composer and pianist in Vienna when he premiered his Piano Concerto No. 21 at one of his subscription concerts in in 1785. The evening was a well-attended musical and social event, with one critic reporting that Mozart's playing “captivated every listener and established Mozart as the greatest keyboard player of his day.” Mozart's father Leopold noted that the new concerto was “astonishingly difficult.” Lively, ebullient outer movements frame a meltingly dream-like and elegant Andante.

Top Choice:
Mitsuko Uchida (piano)
English Chamber Orchestra
Jeffrey Tate (conductor)
Philips 4757306

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Record of the Week: Andrew’s top pick.

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1 hour, 59 minutes

Music Played

  • Edward Elgar

    Lux aeterna

    Music Arranger: John Cameron. Choir: VOCES8.
    • Voces8 Records.
    • 7.
  • Johannes Brahms

    Clarinet Sonata in F Minor Op.120 no.1 (3rd mvt)

    Music Arranger: Stephan Koncz. Performer: Andreas Ottensamer. Orchestra: German Symphony Orchestra Berlin. Conductor: Stephan Koncz.
    • Brahms/Koncz: Sonatas for Clarinet and Orchestra.
    • Pentatone.
    • 103.
  • Toshio Hosokawa

    Who is there? (Futari Shizuka 'The Maiden from the Sea')

    Singer: Ilse Eerens. Singer: Ryoko Aoki. Orchestra: Residentie Orkest. Conductor: Jun Märkl.
    • Toshio Hosokawa: Futari shizuka "The Maiden from the Sea".
    • Naxos.
    • 4.
  • Claude Debussy

    Pagodes (Estampes)

    Performer: Claudio Arrau.
    • First Hand Records.
    • 19.
  • Becky McGlade

    Of the Father's Love Begotten

    Ensemble: New York Polyphony.
    • Sky of my Heart.
    • BIS.
    • 401.
  • Cliff Friend

    June Night

    Composer: Abel Baer. Composer: Svend Asmussen. Music Arranger: Niklas Walentin. Ensemble: The Snorre Kirk Trio.
    • Another June Night.
    • Orchid Classics.
    • 111.
  • Georg Philipp Telemann

    Concerto in E minor TWV.52:e1 (4th mvt)

    Performer: Adrian Chandler. Ensemble: La Serenissima.
    • Crossing Borders.
    • Signum Classics.
    • 124.
  • Igor Stravinsky

    The Sacrifice (The Rite of Spring)

    Performer: Pavel Kolesnikov. Performer: Samson Tsoy.
    • Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps - Ravel: Ma mère l'Oye.
    • harmonia mundi.
    • 113.
  • Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

    Dum complerentur dies Pentecostes

    Choir: Westminster Cathedral Choir. Conductor: Simon Johnson.
    • Ad Fontes.
  • Rachel Portman

    Flight

    Performer: Jess Gillam. Performer: Anna Lapwood.
    • Flight.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 5.
  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    The Mellow Wedding Bells (The Bells Op.35)

    Singer: Kristina Mikhitaryan. Choir: London Philharmonic Choir. Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
    • LPO.

Broadcast

  • Sat 14 Jun 2025 14:00

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