The five most brilliant concertos for violin, all penned before the age of 19! Mozart was not even 15 years old when he began composing violin concertos that would serve as a backdrop at Salzburg receptions. An insatiable drive for independence would however lead the young Konzertmeister to overtly challenge musical forms, innovate with genres, humour and frivolity, all of which can be heard in this delightful first collaboration between Isabelle Faust and the musicians of Il Giardino Armonico. Review 'Isabelle Faust is so versatile a violinist that she is as much at home in Bach as she is in Bart-k, so I really have no excuse for being a tad surprised at just how good this Mozart set is. Faust plays these concertos as though she has been a specialist in this repertoire all her life, and the results are utterly delightful throughout ... She is entirely alive to the period sensitivities of the repertory and the instrument, and she never tries to turn Mozart s youthful concertos into prototypes of Beethoven, as some are guilty of doing. Instead her performances are lithe, agile and full of air, allowing the music to breathe naturally and totally comfortably ... Faust sees herself as primus inter pares here, blending her sound perfectly with that of the orchestra, and only emerging as dominant when required to do so ... the booklet notes are excellent, and include an essay from the great fortepianist Andeas Staier, who advised on the cadenzas, explaining his musical choices.' --Simon Thompson - MusicWeb International, January 2017 SUNDAY TIMES CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE WEEK 'Faust is different as a mainstream interpreter in that she opts for a period orchestra and a historically informed style in these winning accounts of much-loved works. The selling point apart from the inclusion of the B flat and C major rondos (K269/261a and K373), and the E major Adagio (K261), substantial fillers is the cadenzas, newly written by the Mozart specialist Andreas Staier ... Faust s spirited tempi in the outer movements of K218 and K219 bring this music as vividly to life as any recording I know, and her sweet singing tone in the andantes and adagio give full expressive value. Lively accompaniments from the Italians.' --Hugh Canning The Sunday Times, 6th November 2016 'The most critical thing is the match between Isabelle Faust and her gut strung Strad and the orchestra; they fit beautifully, she seems almost airborne at times, so light and airy is the sound ... everything is so well balanced, soloist with ensemble, cadenzas with original Mozart, the speeds and rhythmic drive of the outer movements with the delicacy and fine sprung lyricism of Mozart s middle movements. Ornamentation with a light touch, and the recording itself is as airy as the playing. These performances don t make the mistake of investing the music with a weight and profundity at odds with its inspiration, they sing to us with simplicity and elegance, and I actually listened through the lot in one sitting, so much was I enjoying the experience.' Andrew McGregor BBC Radio 3 Record Review, 5th November 2016 -------------------------------'Giovanni Antonini is the nominal conductor but these wonderful performances have the air of chamber music, of close listening between soloist, band and director. Faust isn t spotlit in the remarkably clear engineering but seems part of the ensemble, her sound growing out of the corporate entity to glitter, coax, snarl and soar as required. She has always struck me as a player who cannot help but look beyond the notes, examining each phrase and paragraph to wring out of them more than simply phrases and paragraphs. She varies her ornamentation delightfully and, as an added treat, plays cadenzas and lead-ins specially written by the keyboard player Andreas Staier, who knows a thing or two about 18th-century style ... for period instruments, period sensibility and state-of-the-art engineering, you may find yourself hard-pressed to better this thought-provoking and eminently enjoyable cycle.' --David Threasher Gramophone, December 2016