Cyprien Katsaris took the initiative when, in 2001, he set up his own label, having tired of the restrictions of conventional commercial ones. Who, for instance, would commit to a complete cycle of Mozart concertos in the current climate? So it would have been good to be able to report on the unqualified success of these live recordings. Sadly, that’s not the case, and it’s the over-resonant acoustic that’s a major stumbling-block. To what extent that affects my perception of the playing, I’m not sure, but the interpretations seem strangely anonymous. Philosophically, it stands in the Uchida/Perahia camp in using a modern-instrument chamber orchestra, but alongside these sets Katsaris sounds merely bland. It’s a bit like looking out on a familiar landscape through a misted-up window: you can sense the beauty of the terrain, but you can’t actually make out its details. Katsaris’s playing lacks tonal variety – though again, that could be exacerbated by the recording.

I’m not sure that the addition of improvised cadenzas for K246 as separate tracks adds much to the disc’s appeal either: it’s not as if it’s possible to programme them into the actual performance. You might expect the Salzburg Kammerphilharmonie to be steeped in Mozart’s musical language but there are times when the wind players aren’t particularly responsive to the opportunities with which they’re presented, which is a pity in a movement as sublime as the Andantino of K449 – a precursor in spirit to that of K467 – or at the point where Mozart launches into joyous triplets in the finale of the same concerto. The minor tinges of K450, too, pass for little compared with the readings of Uchida and Perahia, whose pre-eminence in this repertoire remains unchallenged.