Catalogue

Summary:

“a listening experience that commands the attention from start to finish” – David Threasher, Gramophone

“keen, sweet, intense tone and bravura playing” – Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times

“Bohren has a clarity akin to what in an actor would be called perfect diction, at the service of style and drama.” – Tim Homfray, The Strad

“Ensemble is full-toned and super-precise at every point… Bohren’s gorgeous solo playing [is] full, handsome… and vividly alert to the music’s every shift and turn” ★★★★★ – Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine

“In addition to two excellent violin concertos, this disc offers an equally appealing recording of the Symphony No. 29. Takács-Nagy’s masterful control of dynamics is again on display, as is his rhythmic sense, which makes every detail fit in place.” – Fanfare

“a fresh and lively program and a successfully accomplished technical realization …” ★★★★ – Uwe Krusch, Pizzicato

“This is some of the freshest Mozart I’ve heard in a long while; and the sound is as good as it gets…” – David Rowe, Davidsclassicalcds.com

“these are fresh and careful readings…” ★★★★½ – James Manheim, Allmusic.com 

“His rapturous tone, revealing his deep love for this music, is palpable… there is also a great deal of violin artistry on display, making everything sound wonderfully delicate and vibrant. Gabor Takacs-Nagy and the Chaarts play in the same spirit.” – Christian Berzins, Kulturtipp.ch

“Bohren’s interpretations bring out the sparkling energy of the concertos … His partners on the album, famed Hungarian violinist-turned conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy and the CHAARTS Chamber Artists – comprised of leading European soloists and chamber musicians – perfectly embody these characteristics” – WFMT

“a series of classically balanced interpretations, with Sebastian Bohren’s slender, delicate violin playing entirely devoted to a heavenly, buoyant elegance of tone. Playful experimentation and an aristocratic salon atmosphere are provided by Gábor Takács-Nagy and the Chaarts Chamber Artists … the magnificent musical experience is ultimately and utterly a genuine and unique Sebastian Bohren …” – Dr. Ingobert Waltenberger, onlinemerker.com

Swiss violinist Sebastian Bohren, whose star is rapidly in the ascendant, makes his AVIE label debut with two concertos from Mozart’s “year of the violin” – Nos. 3 and 5 – paired with the composer’s youthful Symphony No. 29. Sebastian’s interpretations bring out the sparkling energy of the concertos, written when Mozart was just 19 years old, yet at the same time a brandish a smoothly burnished sense of style. His partners on the album, famed Hungarian violinist-turned conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy and Sebastian’s compatriots the CHAARTS Chamber Artists – comprised of leading European soloists and chamber musicians – perfectly embody these contrasting characteristics, both in their accompaniments and their reading of the Symphony which was written within a year of the concerti.

Sebastian is equally at home as a soloist and chamber musician. He has performed with the Lucerne Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Basel Symphony Orchestras, among others, under such conductors as James Gaffigan, Andrew Litton and Ivor Bolton. His chamber music collaborators have included Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Thomas Demenga and Konstantin Lifschitz. He plays the “Ex-Wanamaker-Hart” violin made by Guadagnini in Parma in 1761.

Tracklist:

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791)

Violin Concerto No. 3 in G K216
1. I. Allegro 8.53
2. II. Adagio 7.30
3. III. Rondeau: Allegro 6.48

Symphony No. 29 in A K201*
4. I. Allegro moderato 6.52
5. II. Andante 7.37
6. III. Menuetto 3.11
7. IV. Allegro con spirito 4.31

Violin Concerto No. 5 in A K219
8. I. Allegro aperto 10.01
9. II. Adagio 10.00
10. III. Rondeau: Tempo di minuetto 9.16

Total time: 74.43

Sebastian Bohren, violin
CHAARTS Chamber Artists
Gábor Takács-Nagy, conductor

Recorded: 11–13 June 2020 & 12–13 October 2018*, Reformierte Kirche Oberstrass, Zurich
Recording Producer, Engineer, Editor: Torsten Schreier*, Andreas Neubronner
Mastering: Andreas Neubronner

Design draft: Simone Claaßen-Bohren · Layout: WLP Ltd
Photography: Marco Borggreve (cover, p.9) | Miguel Bueno (p.10); Balázs Böröcz, Pilvax (p.11)

℗ 2021 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Sebastian Bohren
© 2021 Sebastian Bohren