Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gary Cooper :: Mozart: Complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin, Vol. 1 [Hybrid SACD]

	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gary Cooper Mozart: Complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin, Vol. 1 [Hybrid SACD] Genre: Classical Rachel Podger's bracing traversal of Vivaldi's La Stravaganza set of violin concertos are among the finest Baroque recordings, leading to high expectations for more. But here, she and fortepianist Gary Cooper, venture into... more » « less
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CD Details

All Artists: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gary Cooper
Title: Mozart: Complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin, Vol. 1 [Hybrid SACD]
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Channel Classics Nl
Release Date: 1/11/2005
Album Type: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Instruments, Strings
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 723385218043

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Rachel Podger's bracing traversal of Vivaldi's La Stravaganza set of violin concertos are among the finest Baroque recordings, leading to high expectations for more. But here, she and fortepianist Gary Cooper, venture into the more rarified world of Mozart, with considerably less success. They offer four sonatas, to which they apply a roller-coaster interpretive method, swinging from overly slow, sentimentalized Adagios to hyperkinetic fast movements undermined by Podger's uningratiating tone, which is highlighted by the excellent, if close-up recording. Missing in action are the Mozartian elegance and grace at the core of these works. The K.6, written when Mozart was about seven, and the late K.547, a teaching piece he wrote for a pupil, are inflated beyond what they can bear. The K. 378 and K.379 pair, which can take emotionally direct interpretations, are overbearing without the necessary elegance. Podger's fans will want this anyway, but she'd do well to listen carefully to Grumiaux's Mozart before continuing this sonata series. --Dan Davis

CD Reviews

An Interesting 'HIP/Authentic' Exploration

Dr. K. C. MacDonald | Cambs, England | 04/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I disagree with the official amazon.com review of this item which terms Podger's tone 'uningratiating' and attacks her interpretation (particularly regarding tempo). The official reviewer's dislike of her 'tone' must be more about the divide between gut-string vs. synthetic string preference than any real qualitative evaluation. As far as gut-string tone goes, Podger has one of the richest, and her playing on this disk is enthralling. There have not been too many 'authentic' (and I use this term grudgingly) recordings of Mozart's violin sonatas. This disk is superior to that of Biondi on Opus 111 in my opinion. It is not a dry reading. There is a good deal of the performer in here - though not as much as is usually the case of Baroque works. This makes for entertaining adventurous listening! Also, for those in to more technical matters of playing, it is interesting to hear how the use of a transitional bow effects Podger's playing. Truly an essential disk for those interested in the historically informed interpretation of classical violin (and fortepiano of course!).

One other problem in the official reviewers text is the assertion that Podger brings too much gravitas to KV6 'written by a child-Mozart'. Though this sonata hardly 'heady stuff' the reviewer should have bourne in mind that it was in fact probably written by Wolfgang AND by his far more mature (and sadly now forgotten) composer father (and violin pedagogue) Leopold.

Why four stars? The absolutely beautiful opening of the Adagio of KV379 is marred by the close-miking of the fortepiano which gives us far too many strongly noticeable mechanical clicks in what is a very delicate piece of music. Also, the liner notes that go with this album are appalling - they are riven with typos and hanging, incomplete sentences. Channel Classics should relieve their English translator of duties and find a suitable replacement!"