Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Zahler, Richard Egarr :: Mozart: Violin Sonatas, 1781 [Hybrid SACD]

Mozart beautifully played in resplendent multichannel sound

Mike Birman | Brooklyn, New York USA | 10/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mozart had, during a visit to Vienna in May 1781, just resigned or (most likely) been fired from his much hated service as court organist and concertmaster to the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus Colloredo. As a Colloredo employee, Mozart's Father Leopold was deeply embarrassed by Wolfgang's high-handed behavior as well as profoundly jealous of his son's new-found freedom. Leopold was especially angry that his heretofore homeless son had found lodgings with the Weber family, a family he distrusted and disliked, and whose eldest daughter, a talented coloratura soprano named Aloysia, Mozart had loved since 1777 and whose slightly comical proposal of marriage (accompanied as it was by Wolfgang's grandiose schemes of quick wealth) she had rejected. Mozart eventually found solace with a younger, less artistically endowed Weber daughter, Constanze. Now with a roof over his head, Mozart was free to begin his freelance career in Vienna, precipitating his 'golden decade'. This was a ten year span in which Mozart composed some of the finest music ever created in every artistic genre: a universality of artistic endeavour represented by music of such matchless sublimity and breathtaking beauty, it will probably never be duplicated.



This lovely release showcases three complete Violin Sonatas written by Mozart in 1781 and one fragment, K.403, completed by Maximilian Stadler. They are revolutionary compositions in several respects: the broader expressive role assigned to the violin, the deeper emotional range of the music with its dramatic mien that is operatic in effect, and the richness of thematic structure and the sheer brilliance and beauty of the music. We are witnessing an introduction to a whole new world of composition, its novelty offering a glimpse into the future with its nascent Romanticism. Commercially, the three completed sonatas represent Mozart's publishing debut in Vienna.



The Sonata in F major, K.377, with its brilliant Tema con variazioni and the Sonata in E-flat major, K.380, and its poignantly beautiful, darkly sonorous Andante con moto middle movement, are just two of the highlights of this superb disc. There are many more. If you are unfamiliar with these sonatas, and the relatively thinner, gutsier sound of period instruments are amenable to your ears, this disc makes a fine introduction to Mozart's 16 mature Violin Sonatas. Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr play beautifully, with an attention to detail that heightens Mozart's brilliant musical poetry, and a deft touch producing a pure sonority bringing clarity to his ingenious musical arguments. The breathtaking immediacy of the sound produced by this well recorded Hybrid Multichannel SACD heightens the aesthetic experience even further. This is a wonderful recording, easy to recommend to those for whom beauty is not a luxury, but a necessity urgently needed to make it through the day.



Mike Birman"