Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor

Rafał Blechacz’s Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor forms the opening work of his August 14, 2026, Deutsche Grammophon album, which also includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor and 32 Variations in C Minor. Accompanied in the concertos by the Dresdner Philharmonie under Kent Nagano, Blechacz builds the program around the expressive possibilities of C minor, a tonal world he describes as full of depth, darkness, drama, and strength. Recorded at Dresden’s Kulturpalast, the album brings together orchestral collaboration and solo playing within a single, approximately 75-minute sequence.

Mozart’s concerto, K. 491, unfolds across three movements: an expansive “Allegro,” the more intimate “Larghetto,” and a concluding “Allegretto,” together lasting approximately 30 minutes in this recording. Its placement before Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto creates a direct comparison between two composers exploring dramatic expression through the same key and instrumental form. Beethoven’s 32 Variations, WoO 80, then removes the orchestra, concentrating the closing section on Blechacz alone at the keyboard. The recording also continues a longstanding partnership: Blechacz and Nagano first performed together in 2013, giving this program a foundation in more than a decade of musical collaboration.