Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Alicia De Larrocha :: Mozart: Piano Sonatas

Clean, classical interpretation

Warren J. Dew | Somerville, MA USA | 07/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are some differences of opinion about how to play Mozart. The traditional view is that he is a composer of the classical period; however, there have been artists who believe he is better grouped with the later, romantic composers, with more in common with Beethoven and Chopin than with Haydn. Thus it is that you can get Horowitz recordings of Mozart piano sonatas which unabashedly exploit the tremendous dynamic range of a modern concert grand piano, or Barenboim recordings that use rubato extending well beyond the classical definition of "borrowing" time from one part of the music to another.



De Larrocha's interpretations on this disk are clearly in the classical school, not the romantic. Her interpretations of these piano sonatas are light, clean, and beautiful; she uses her concert grand to elicit subtle dynamics, rather than broad ones. Her rubatos are gentle and largely limited to the melody and the right hand, as Mozart himself is said to have played; her focus is on playing these sonatas as Mozart wrote them, rather than on leaving her own imprint on the music.



For Mozart's solo piano pieces, such as these sonatas, I much prefer de Larrocha's classical approach. I'm happy to transform my ear phones into a concert hall with Beethoven or Brahms, but I like Mozart sonatas better as chamber music in the intimacy of my parlor.



If you, too, wish to hear a clear, classical set of Mozart sonatas as Mozart composed them, you won't go wrong with this disc."

A Perfect Combination

Ripley | New York, NY, United States | 12/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mozart at his best and Alicia de Larrocha at her best. This is perhaps my favorite classical CD."

CD of Mozart Sonata

Maria arce | 01/30/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"de la roccha's interpretation of Mozart's Sonata K 331, third movement, is i believe the way mozart intended it to sound, less frenzied but playful with occasional bravado . great purchase for a very reasonable and affordable price. thanks- maria 'ongkit' arce"