I just bought this on ebay (I went a bit mad in the last couple of weeks and put in low bids on a lot of classical CDs that looked vaguely interesting -- winning a surprising number for under a pound or two each!)
I have an observation that perhaps other people will be able to explain for me.
First, it's a 2CD set issued in 2001 by... well, I'm not sure who by but I assume it's of German origin (the text is German first with an English translation afterwards). The violinist is Yehudi Menuhin and the set includes:
Violinkonzert D-Dur KV Anh. 294a "Adelaide" - Paris Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux (1934)
Violinkonzert Nr. 3 G-Dur KV216 - Paris Symphony Orchestra, Georges Enesco (1935)
Violinkonzert Nr. 4 D-Dur KV218 - Liverpool Philharmonic, Malcolm Sargent (1943)
Violinkonzert Nr. 7 D-Dur KV271a - Paris Symphony Orchestra, Georges Enesco (1932)
The notes are very scanty and don't say anything about the "Adelaide" concerto. So here is my observation: it's not written by Mozart, is it?
I have this concerto on another CD (recorded 1990, disc issued in 2000) and the notes with
that say:
At least three violin concertos have at one time or another had Mozart's name erroneously attached to them. The one known as the 'Adelaide' is so charmingly melodius and engaging that no less a figure than Yehudi Menuhin took it up and recorded it, while the composer Paul Hindemith even went so far as to write cadenzas for it (Vanessa-Mae uses her own on this recording). In the event, this delightful piece turns out to be the work of the violinist Marius Casadesus, one of a renowned family of musicians that produced a number of such 'old masters'. He initially presented it at a concert in Paris in 1931 as a hitherto unpublished work by Mozart, dedicated to Adelaide, daughter of Louis XV, which he had merely edited and orchestrated.
So, I'm wondering: when was the "fraud" discovered? The Menuhin recording is from 1934, three years after Casadesus's premier. Was it still believed to be Mozart's at that time?
(Another point, but perhaps unanswerable, is why the CD doesn't give a proper credit: it was issued in 2001, and it
must have been known at that time as my 2000 disc correctly attributes it to Casadesus.)
I'm also intrigued by the numbering of the concerto. First, why doesn't it have a number? "Concerto No. 8", or whatever. Was it ever numbered in that way and then stripped of its number when the deception was discovered? Second, why does the KV-number end in an "a"? Does that signify "we know it's not Mozart really"? But then why give it a K-number at all? Thirdly, what does "Anh." mean, and why do none of the other concertos on the disc include it? Does
that signify "we know it's not Mozart really"?
One final observation: the CD insert does have a short comment on KV 271a:
The Violin Concerto in D, K271a is not from Mozart in the form on had. The music was most probably written down in the first half of the 19th century, presumably with reference to notes made by Mozart. For example, one theme from the final movement bears a striking similarity to a theme from Mozart's ballet music "Les petits rien".
Ok, I note that this also has the "a" suffix but it doesn't include the word "Anh." And it does has a "proper" number (No.7), which seems to me to be a bit of a cheat!
Overall I'm perplexed.
("Stop obsessing over pointless trivia IRF and just enjoy the music.")
I know, I know, but I find these things interesting...
