Mozart wrote his Violin Concertos in 1775 while still living in his home town of Salzburg and in service to Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. Mozart had already toured internationally and found his parochial environment restricting, but as ever he rose above circumstances to create sublime and thrillingly unconventional masterpieces filled with wit and charm. The finely sustained melodic expression of each concerto’s slow centre provides the perfect foil for inventive sparkle in outer movements that include a cheeky reference to the opera Il re pastore in K. 216, and an exotic ‘Turkish’ moment in the finale of K. 219.

An artist of exquisite musicianship, Henning Kraggerud is invited time and again to join many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Philharmonia, Hallé, Danish National Symphony, the Cincinnati, Baltimore, Toronto and Vancouver symphony orchestras and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He has performed with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and twice at the BBC Proms in London. In his native Norway, he is Artistic Director of Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. Kraggerud’s discography includes many recordings on the Naxos label, including Grieg’s Three Sonatas, arranged for violin and chamber orchestra by Henning Kraggerud and Bernt Simen Lund (8573137).

• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K216
• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K218
• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K219 'Turkish'