Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano, although not technically demanding, are surprisingly often given unsatisfactory performances. The problem is that they reverse the configuration the listener expects: they are not pieces for violin accompanied by piano, but vice versa. The cover of this disc, rather than using the misleading "sonatas for violin and piano" or the confusing "sonatas for piano and violin," opts for the simple duo sonatas designation. The balance between the two instruments is tricky, and just catching the ...
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Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano, although not technically demanding, are surprisingly often given unsatisfactory performances. The problem is that they reverse the configuration the listener expects: they are not pieces for violin accompanied by piano, but vice versa. The cover of this disc, rather than using the misleading "sonatas for violin and piano" or the confusing "sonatas for piano and violin," opts for the simple duo sonatas designation. The balance between the two instruments is tricky, and just catching the dynamic ebb and flow of the music is a challenge. This British period-instrument release solves the problems as few other recordings have. The case for using a fortepiano rather than a harpsichord in the early sonatas, composed in Mannheim in 1778, is strong; while the harpsichord was still more common, this was close to the time Mozart first heard the new fortepiano, which clearly shaped the design of some of the keyboard sonatas written around this time, and the cover of the...
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