If you were to perform a blind listening test on anyone with this recording, I'm convinced that practically everyone participating would mutter to themselves: "Surely these must be piano concertos by Mozart that I hadn't heard before." After all Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) was born just a few days after Mozart turned four, and throughout his extensive travels as a virtuoso concert pianist, he must have performed some of Haydn and Mozart's music. Although it already becomes evident in the 1801 Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 49, that Dussek's technique, as it applies to the piano part, was already demonstrating signs of progress over his contemporaries, if not quite as expressively far-reaching as Beethoven.

Jan Ladislav Dussek was born in Bohemia and died in France. He was the son of an organist and therefore began his music career as an organist himself, but quickly transitioned to the piano. He composed works primarely for solo piano, and chamber music. These piano concertos are his only compositions that include an orchestra. He traveled extensively throughout Germany, the Netherlands, England and France, and featured in many sought after concerts. He is known to have advanced piano technique, and is credited with being the first to position the piano sideways on stage to allow the audience to better see the performer, as well as the performer's hands.

This is Volume 5 of a new series launched by Hyperion following the great success of their still ongoing, and substantial Romantic Piano Concerto series, now up to Volume 76. This new Classical Piano Concerto series will cover music from 1770 to 1820. Pianist Howard Shelley figured prominently in the previous series, as well as having recorded many of Mozart's piano concertos in the past on the Chandos label, so who better to promote and record, some as premières, these fine piano concertos by Dussek. His refined, expressive and commited interpretations play a major part in making us believe he's playing Mozart. Only a musician of this calibre would give this much expression to a lesser known composer, and make him sound like royalty. And as always from Hyperion, the recorded sound is exemplary and very well balanced.