A Fresh Look at Mozart
D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 04/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If this CD had been played for me as a guess-who-this-is experiment I would have named Beethoven not Mozart as the composer. This is clear from the solemn introduction of the Fantasia in C minor K 475 and the marvelous virtuoso writing that follows. The music is moody and shifts between gloom and brightness with the contrasts playing off of each other with great color and effect.
The Sonata in B-flat major seems the opposite of the fantasy with light melodies that carry none of the depth of the previous piece. The sonata, however, begins to change, and the second melody of the first movement has more tension and a slightly harder edge. The remaining movements carry on a battle between major and minor keys. The Finale was written like a concerto movement, complete with cadenza, and except for some brief excisions into the minor the music is bright and upbeat.
The Fantasia in C minor K. 396 returns to an exploration of darker tonalities and contains plenty of dissonant chords. The music alternates between wonderful lyric passages and experimenting with minor tonality. The piece was left unfinished by Mozart and was completed by Maximillian Stadler. Again the music would easily be mistaken for Beethoven for its turbulent mood and seeming exploration of a dark side.
The remaining works look back to Mozart. The Etude by Johann Baptist Cramer is a brief study of the elegance of Mozart while the Menuetto of Ignaz Friedman was based on Mozart's Divertimento for string quartet and horns, and is very sweet and sentimental. The Three Mozart Transformations were composed by Stephen Hough using Francis Poulenc as a model. The music is Mozart seem through the prism of the 20th century and turns out to be an inspired mix; an homage that Poulenc might have written on his own. The final work is a Fantasia on two themes from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro by Liszt was left unfinished by him and was completed by Ferruccio Busoni. Originally, Liszt had also included themes from Don Giovanni but Busoni removed the music creating a more unified work. Like all paraphrases this is a brilliant piece with a lot of color and virtuoso writing.
Stephen Hough has programmed some remarkable music and he plays with an eye for subtitle shadings and nuances. The recording is clear and well-balanced and certainly captures Mr. Hough's marvelous playing perfectly.
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Disc contents
RaleighObserver | Eastern USA | 03/13/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here is the contents of this disc taken from Hyperion's website:
MOZART Fantasia in C minor K475; Sonata in B flat major K333; Fantasia in C minor K396/385f; JOHANN BAPTIST CRAMER Hommage à Mozart Étude Op 103 No 6; IGNAZ FRIEDMAN (1882-1948) Menuetto in D major (from Mozart's Divertimento for string quartet and two horns K334); STEPHEN HOUGH Three Mozart Transformations (after Poulenc); LISZT / BUSONI Fantasia on themes from Mozart's `The Marriage of Figaro'
And a quote from a review from the London Sunday Times: "Here's another winning, imaginatively conceived disc from Britain's finest pianist ... It is unexpected and delightful programme-building. Prized for his pianism, Hough is also a superb Mozartian. He lends these Fantasias an almost Beethovenian weight and depth of expression ... Hough's playing is dazzling throughout"
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Track Listings (11) - Disc #1