Elizabeth Sombart plays Mozart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Mozart’s piano concertos are peerless examples of the genre, providing not only a unique insight into his creative world, but also his own supreme pianistic ability. In the second of two Sunday afternoon concerts at Cadogan Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Elizabeth Sombart presents another pair of these sublime masterpieces.

The richly colourful ‘Prague’ Symphony is followed by the piano concerto known to have been specially prized by Mozart himself. The outer movements of No 23 glow with a sense of warm contentment, full of seemingly endless melodic inspiration.

By contrast, intense sadness lurks beneath the surfaces of the final work in the series, Concerto No 27 in B flat, written shortly before the composer’s untimely death. Predominantly major keys are subtly coloured with minor to create an extraordinary sense of poignancy, and the music’s skipping rhythms are tinged with a wistful intensity which suggests Mozart somehow knew his end was in sight.

The concert is introduced by the broadcaster and author John Suchet.