Leopold Kozeluch: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 5 & 6—London Mozart Players/Howard Shelley, piano (Hyperion 68154)
Leopold Kozeluch was another composer-pianist trying to make his way in 1780s Vienna and he has not been treated kindly by posterity, suffering that obscurity shared by so many of Mozart’s contemporaries Kozeluch left around 400 compositions: some 30 symphonies, 22 piano concertos (including a concerto for piano four-hands, that is one of the best examples of this rare genre), clarinet concertos, 24 violin sonatas, 63 piano trios, 6 string quartets, 2 oratorios, 9 cantatas and various liturgical works. And almost none of it is heard or recorded today. But his brand of Rococo galanterie, much in evidence in the three piano concertos recorded here, is guaranteed to delight, especially in such attentive performances as these!