Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Egarr :: Mozart: Fantasias & Rondos

Superb Mozart from Richard Egarr

M. Levitt | Philadelphia, PA USA | 11/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Richard Egarr's all Mozart solo keyboard CD should appeal to a wide range of listeners: those who love Mozart; those who love Mozart's solo keyboard works, especially miscellaneous compositions, as opposed to the keyboard sonatas; those who seek out music played on authentic instruments; and those who like well engineered recordings.



Mozart's miscellaneous keyboard pieces possibly are not as well known overall as are his Piano Sonatas, except possibly by pianists familiar with the literature. Ernest Hutcheson, a piano pedagogue from the 1940s and 1950s writes, in his book, "The Literature of the Piano," that "{e}very pianist should own a copy of the miscellaneous pieces of Mozart's volume small but worth its weight in gold."



The Mozart miscellaneous pieces include three Fantasias, three Rondos, an Adagio, a Minuet and a Gigue. Egarr plays all three Fantasias - though one is entitled a Prelude and Fuge - and the Minuet, Gigue, two Rondos, and about three or four miscellaneous pieces other than those Hutcheson referred to, including one composed for glass harmonica. The best known of the 11 pieces in Egarr's CD are the Fantasia in D Minor, K.397; the Adagio in B Minor, K. 540; the Rondo in A Minor, K. 511; and the Rondo in D Major, K. 485.



Less often played and recorded are the Fantasia in C Minor, K. 396; the Preludio and Fuge, K. 394 - better known as the Fantasia and Fugue in C Major, K. 394 - the Fantasia (Capriccio) in C Major, K. 395; the Kleine Trauermarsch in C Minor, K. 354a; the Minuett in D Major, K. 395; the Gigue in G Major, K. 355; and the concluding Adagio for Glass Harmonica in C Major, K. 356.



None of the Fantasias recorded by Egarr in this CD should be confused with the famous Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475, which is usually coupled with the Sonata in C Minor, K. 457, yet the three Fantasias K. 394, 396 and 397, plus the Fantasia/ Capriccio, K. 395 are very fine works: dramatic. emotional and powerful in their different ways.



I have always loved the Fantasia in D Minor, K. 397. The Fantasia in C Minor, K. 396 is a beautiful piece, while both Hutcheson and Egarr single out the Preludio and Fugue in C Major as the finest of all the Fantasias. The Preludio or Fantasia, which is the first part of K. 394, is toccata like, It goes into the minor key shortly after the piece opens in the major, and demonstrates Mozart's awareness of Bach, though not at all imitative of J.S. Bach.



The Fantasia/ Capriccio, K. 395 is a nice piece, and I'm glad that Egarr included it in his CD. His performance is excellent. In fact, I'd call this all Mozart CD a joy from start to finish, arguably one of the best solo keyboard CDs I've heard this year.



The Adagio in B Minor, K.540 is gorgeous, a famous Mozart composition, and Egarr does it beautifully.



Strongly recommended.







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Splendid, imaginative fortepiano performances

Issaquahzimodo | Seattle, WA United States | 11/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Vivid, imaginative performances by harpsichordist Richard Egarr of the Fantasia in D Minor, Adagio in B Minor, and an assortment of Rondos, Adagios and other smaller-scale works. High marks for the recording engineer, also."