Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 22 & 25 ~ Fray / van Zweden

David Fray -- named Instrumentalist of the Year in France's Victoires de la Musique 2010 -- retains his focus on Austro- German repertoire with his second CD of keyboard concertos for Virgin Classics, Mozart's Concertos Nos. 22 and 25, recorded with London's Philharmonia Orchestra under Dutch violinist-turned-conductor, Jaap van Zweden. Fray's last release was a solo program of Schubert keyboard works. The recital was praised by critics for its distinctive and multi-layered interpretation by various publications including BBC Magazine, who wrote that "No Schubert-lover should miss this piano recital by David Fray." The Sunday Times felt that: "These are wonderful performances by the young French pianist David Fray, a player with a beautiful touch and the finest control of dynamics and chording . . . By taking his time, without ever weakening the music's inexorable momentum, Fray fills every note with meaning, in such a way that we feel intensely each mercurial change of mood and color and texture, relish Schubert's astonishing harmonic invention to the full, and relive the heartbreak, the ferocity, the elation, the visionary flights of these inexhaustible works." The Guardian was enthused by "the sheer lucidity and polish of Fray's playing, its exceptional command of color and touch, and the way he invariably uses that range of sound to point up musical structures in a meaningful way... pianism of the highest class."