From the beginning of my conducting career I was fortunate to often make music with pianist Eugene Istomin. Jody's and my personal relationship with Gene also included  many memorable times with his remarkable wife, Marta Casals Istomin.

To celebrate Gene's 70th birthday in 1995, he wanted to record two of Mozart's greatest piano concertos, number 21, K.467 and number 24, K. 491. He asked me and my Seattle orchestra to do that recording and he even brought his Steinway piano from New York to Seattle for sessions. A few days ago, I was in the car with our daughter Gabriella and she played that recording, one of her favorites. I hadn't listened to those performances in many years and they brought back so many wonderful memories. Certainly of that great music but also the kind of music making that Gene and the orchestra did. We all know of the greatness of Mozart, and his piano concerts remain among the greatest of all time. Maybe not the first few but of the 27 that he wrote, there are probably 12 or so that we could call masterpieces!  These are loving performances that I love and hope you enjoy.