Search - Robert Stallman;flute :: Mozart-Stallman: New Quintets for Flute & Strings

Great works by Mozart in a new light

Mark Starr | Los Altos, CA USA | 10/15/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What an exhilharating experience it was for me--and undoubtedly will be for all lovers of Mozart's chamber music and the legion of flute fanatics--to listen to this CD. Robert Stallman--the American flutist who is the reincarnation of Jean-Pierre Rampal--has pulled off a magic trick with the finesse of a David Copperfield. He has transformed (rather than "transcribed") three of Mozart's 4-hand piano sonatas into quintets for flute and string quartet--thus, in one fell swoop, singularly enriching the flute chamber music repertoire with three "new" masterpieces by Mozart, while at the same time revealing the essentially polyphonic nature of these late keyboard works.



To top it off, Stallman is the flutist Mozart would have raved about, had he heard him play--instead of carping about the instrument's techincal limitations. The performances on this CD, played with the superb Martinu String Quartet, are--in a word--delicious.



Flutists and flute-music aficionados: at last, you have some more great music by Mozart in the flute repertoire to devour, besides the three omnipresent concertos and the flute quartets!"

Wonderful!

Jean Humez | 12/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have never in my life heard a more gloriously original recording. This CD is as unique as the genius of Mozart. Virtuoso flutist and Mozart lover, Robert Stallman. has immersed himself in the musical genres of the classical era and discovered three of Mozart's rarely heard masterpieces which had the potential for being reconfigured as flute quintets.

Admirers of Mozart agree that this composer's genius has changed the course of the symphony, piano concerto and sonata in his short life of thirty-six years. We wonder what further influence he would have had on musical forms if he had lived to be middle-aged.

Robert Stallman has found a way to enrich the scope of Mozart's chamber works to include the flute quintet; a form which existed during the classical period. Stallman has not just adapted, but sensitively enhanced three rarely performed masterworks for four hand piano, of which many pianists are unaware, creating new repertoire for the flute and strings.

By involving the flute and strings, Stallman brings out sonorities which might have occurred to Mozart's vivid imagination before the composer wrote down the music on the page. This music is original both in the conception of the new arrangements, and in the distinctiveness of their interpretation. The "new repertoire" comes to life through both the sheer beauty of sound, expertly engineered by Brian Peters, and through the unique playing of the performers. Stallman's sensitive phrasing calls for unbelievable breath control and technique on the flute .The Martinu Quartet with Karel Untermuller bring out all the diverse voices in each work with masterful grace.

The thrilling prospect of augmenting the legacy of one of the world's most beloved composers has been realized, and now these three "newly discovered" works by Mozart can be performed and appreciated for years to come, thanks to the inspiration and artistry of Robert Stallman.



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A Treasure Trove

Isabelle Chapuis | 11/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When archeologist Howard Carter broke through the seal of King Tut's tomb and peeked through the crack in the door, an assistant asked him: "What do you see." He replied: "I see wonderful things."



When I broke open the package of American flutist Robert Stallman's latest CD, and I listened to him perform his arrangements for flute and string quartet of three works by Mozart, originally for piano four-hands, my telephone rang. A friend asked me what I was listening to, and then she inquired: "Well, what did you hear?" I replied: "I heard wonderful things."



As a flutist who bemoans every day that Mozart wrote only a few works for the flute, each of which is pure gold, I found Stallman's CD was like a discovery and a revelation. His arrangements of these 4-hand piano sonatas into flute quintets are absolutely convincing. And his performances, together with the superb Martinu String Quartet, are like jewels.



Flutists rejoice! With this CD, Stallman has just increased the size of the entire Mozart flute repertoire by about a quarter.



Isabelle Chapuis

Principal Flute; Orchestra of Opera San Jose (CA)

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