It was an awakening experience when Christoph Koncz, principal violinist of the Vienna Philharmonic and conductor, first held Mozart’s original concert violin in his hands. This was the violin on which Mozart had played as concertmaster in the Salzburg Hofkapelle: a Baroque violin that was carefully preserved after Mozart’s death and treated almost as a holy relic. The idea of recording Mozart’s five violin concertos for the first time on the composer’s own concert violin was one that Christoph Koncz found irresistibly fascinating. “There’s a close connection between these concertos and this instrument, and Mozart’s own experience of this violin undoubtedly inspired him greatly. In his violin concertos he was fond of using the instrument’s upper tessitura and coloratura register, which is where his violin sounds particularly beautiful.” – Christoph Koncz

Classical Music

FLUTE & OBOE QUARTETS

MOZART: PIANO CONCERTOS NO 20

MOZART: SERENADE K 203 MAIER,

These are witty and deft performances, with a feeling of freedom and effortlessness, the dialogue between instruments having a natural, conversational air.

Mozart's great Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, written in Salzburg in 1779 under the impact of his recent travels in Mannheim and Paris, is one of those works that hardly ever fails in performance. This new version, the first I have heard with period instruments, characteristically sets rather quick tempos as compared with traditional ones, and initially I wondered whether it wasn't a shade light-weight, emotionally speaking: in the Andante particularly, where those wonderful crescendos of expression between the passionately duetting violin and viola seemed a shade lower-key than usual, and the climaxes at their dissolution—in increasingly tortuous music as the movement proceeds—less obviously justified.

Well, the less intense style here does in the event justify itself in a reading of the work that is clear, spirited and very natural in its handling of expression. The long musical paragraphs of the Andante are in fact beautifully judged, with much delicacy in the detail; and the first movement's lively rhythms and pointed accents, with vigorous and well-balanced tuttis, have an unusual freshness that I find very appealing. The soloists are duly athletic. Sometimes the violin playing seems a shade matter-of-fact, but there are poetic touches too even if many more from the viola player. She follows Mozart's directions, unlike many violists today (though Lionel Tertis used to), in tuning her viola up a semitone and thereby brightening its tone, so that it competes on more nearly equal terms with the violin; this also makes the music a good deal easier to play. The dialogue between instruments is in fact happily carried off, with a natural, conversational air, and the cadenzas have an appropriately improvisatory quality. Just occasionally there is an instant where the intonation seems marginal; and there are some readings in conflict with the New Mozart Edition score—the oboes down an octave in bars 242-3 of the first movement, a D natural from the solo violin instead of D flat in bar 99 of the second. The finale is deftly and wittily done, with a pleasant feeling of freedom and effortlessness.

The Concertone (the word simply means 'large concerto'—whether it refers here to the time-scale or the number of soloists I am not certain) is a much earlier piece, in a relaxed style very much akin to that of J. C. Bach's works of the sinfonia concertante type, especially in its way of drawing in other soloists (oboe, cello, a couple of violas) from time to time. I have heard performances more affectionate, and more graceful in the slow movement, but find this one as satisfying as any, all round, for its sure grasp of the style and especially its good feeling for the leisurely character of the work. Once or twice the violin playing seems a little choppy, but the oboe playing especially is of very high quality.

Altogether then, a record I would commend to anyone who likes Mozart on period instruments, particularly as the recording offers clear and wellbalanced textures. It is odd that a record so well prepared should be issued with a booklet that says virtually nothing about the Sinfonia Concertante except that the viola should be tuned up (the note is wisely anonymous, even if the translations are attributed), and which altogether omits to mention that Marilyn McDonald plays the viola.

-- Stanley Sadie, Gramophone [11/1988]
reviewing the original release, DHM 49006

Mozart, W.A.: Piano Music

This is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni performed by Chorus of de Nederlandse Oper Royal Concertgebouw Orhestra directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le Nozze Di Figaro, performed by Chorus of de Nederlandse Oper Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

There is little known about the composition of Zaide; Mozart rarely mentions it in correspondence of the period. We do know that he began work on it in 1779-80 but stopped composing after 15 numbers had been completed. Perhaps it was because there was no prospect of a production; perhaps he was left at a creative loss by the fact that the hero and heroine--Zaide and Gomatz--are romantically attracted to each other and at the opera's close turn out to be brother and sister. More likely, a commission from Munich for Idomeneo arrived, and it was a far grander proposition. When Joseph II asked Mozart for a new Singspiel after Idomeneo, the composer looked at Zaide again but decided instead on a work with a similar plot and Turkish atmosphere, Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Zaide is a far simpler work than Entführung. The orchestration is less complex, the arias less ornate; indeed, had it been completed it would have been a type of "popular" entertainment that Mozart later validated with Die Zauberflöte--essentially a spoken play with songs--but not as rich. But several of the 15 numbers that were composed are top-drawer Mozart--utterly charming, gentle, fervent--and you could argue that the aria "Ruhe sanft" is his most beautiful for soprano voice. Furthermore, it is the only work of Mozart's to include melodrama--text spoken over music that more-or-less underlines the words' feelings--an odd practice whose most famous examples are found in the dungeon scene of Beethoven's Fidelio and the Wolf's Glen Scene in Der Freischutz.

There have been several recordings of the opera: One (which I've not heard) dates from a 1956 broadcast and stars Fritz Wunderlich and Maria Stader; a 1982 recording under Leopold Hager (on Orfeo) is heavy-handed and lacks charm; one led by Bernhard Klee in the complete Mozart Edition on Philips is prosaic and lacks any real sense of drama; another features Paul Goodwin leading a terrific performance with fleet tempos, youthful energy, and warmth (on Harmonia Mundi), with the lovely Lynne Dawson as Zaide. This new DHM set, recorded at concert performances in Vienna in March, 2006, has a great deal to recommend it and is now the recording of choice--but there is a serious caveat.

The caveat, which I'll explain below, has little to do with the leadership of Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Aside from a weirdly slow "Ruhe sanft" (he might have just been bathing in the beauty of Diana Damrau's voice and is to be forgiven for such an indulgence), tempos are un-eccentric, and his Concentus Musicus Wien plays with alternating grace and potency, able to pull out all the stops, say, in Soliman's entrance and Zaide's rage aria in the second act. Mozart supplied no overture, and Harnoncourt wisely uses the similarly scored K. 184.

In addition, the cast is terrific. As suggested above, Damrau is lovely and endlessly interesting as Zaide, the Sultan Soliman's favorite, and her sweetness and sadness are as effective as her fury. Michael Schade as Gomatz, enslaved by Soliman, gets to express his outrage well, and he's very fine indeed. Soliman is another tenor role, and Rudolf Schasching attacks it with vehemence, only occasionally overdoing the teeth-gnashing. Allazim, a Muslim convert from Christianity who lives at the Palace and decides to escape with the others, is sung nicely by baritone Florian Boesch, and he makes the most of this conflicted character. Anton Scharinger sings the bass role of Osmin with the right combination of menace and humor.

Now for the caveat. The unfinished work "ends" with a quartet in which the Muslim Soliman is about to kill Zaide and Gomatz, while Allazim, disappointed in Soliman, pleads for their lives. No happy ending is in sight. It is impossible not to draw comparisons with today's Christians vs Muslims political climate, but in case we missed it, for these performances a text has been written and performed by the Austrian actor Tobias Moretti. It starts and ends the action and is inserted occasionally between numbers, adding about 25 minutes to the opera. It begins with some genuinely nasty exchanges heard at the last Republican Party Convention and continues with a discussion about freedom, the Enlightenment, class distinctions. In between numbers it explains the action, often in very modern slang, which could pass for "hip" if it weren't so obtrusively self-conscious, and it closes the opera, after the vicious, pessimistic quartet (a great piece of music, by the way), by wondering what the conclusion will be: "A military intervention, perhaps, a bush fire for liberty and culture"? Very clever, and We Get It, We Get It; it's a point well-taken, even if it has no place vis-a-vis Mozart's unfinished opera. It then goes on to philosophize.

But here's something even more bothersome: Moretti's opening remarks include a discussion of freedom of worship, spirit, and thought, "the latter something Thomas Mann recommended to the Germans once more after 1945, as they had mislaid it..." As long as Moretti is pointing a well-placed finger, would he like to say a few words about his fellow Austrians' involvement in mislaying freedom while the Germans were doing the same thing? Or do politics of that sort have no place in the Musikverein? My advice: Listen to the wonderfully performed music and use your remote control to avoid the lecture.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

MOZART MEETS CUBA

This second volume of early Mozart symphonies features a really biting, vivid performance of the "little G minor" K. 183, with its prominent writing for four horns very well realized. The other treat comes in the form of the massive (more than seven minutes) Minuet K. 409, a magnificent work for trumpets and drums whose existence is often overlooked. The other major work here is the vibrant Symphony in G K. 199, a large piece in three movements lasting more than 20 minutes, composed in 1773. The remaining pieces are less consequential, and three of the symphonies here were fashioned from opera overtures: Ascanio in Alba, Il sogno di Scipione, and La finta giardiniera. As you might expect, they are all charming, and immaculately crafted.


Harnoncourt conducts all of this music with evident affection and a welcome absence of affectation. It's fun to hear how he treats minuets: you never know how the trio will relate to its surroundings, but somehow whatever Harnoncourt does always sounds right. It almost goes without saying that the playing of the Concentus Musicus Wien is excellent; the rich, fruity quality of the woodwinds sounds particularly fine in this music, and the sonics are terrific. In short, this is a very appealing release, and it's nice to see these early symphonies coming in a two-disc-per-set format rather than a single big box. This gives you the opportunity to savor each work without feeling obligated to wade through a ton of similar-sounding stuff in one shot.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Mozart: Don Giovanni / Barenboim, Cuberli, Meier, Rodgers Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Performer: Lella Cuberli, Matti Salminen, John Tomlinson, Joan Rodgers, Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus. For some reason, Daniel Barenboim's recordings of the Mozart-Da Ponte masterpieces have been overlooked. All three have splendid casts and among them, this may be the least spectacular, but it is nonetheless a wonderful performance. Joan Rodgers has a gorgeous voice, and sings Zerlina with radiant and womanly warmth - no voce infantile here, thank the gods. It's a pity she hasn't recorded more. She is, fortunately, in Barenboim's two other Mozart-Da Ponte operas, singing her heart out as Susanna and Despina. Furlanetto has an interesting take on the role of the Don. He usually sings Leprello, but here he sings the part of Don Giovanni with a rather unique interpretation. He plays the Don as somewhat of a fool, with more of a comic slant than I have ever heard. But humor was part of Mozart's original intention, and the Don does have his roots in street theater, so in this case a buffo Don works. Tomlinson as Leporello is more of the Don's straight man, and there seems to be a bit of role reversal going on here between the clownish Don and his more dignified servant. Tomlinson's voice can be, I think, rather boring a kind of voice-in-a-box, like Samuel Ramey. Good, strong, accurate, but not much drama or artfulness. Ewe Heilmann's ravishingly beautiful Mozartian tenor voice adds a welcome dimension of eros to the role of the too-often bland and wimpy Don Ottavio. Waltraud Meier's Donna Elvira, though occassionally a bit on the shrill side, and Leila Cuberli's Donna Anna are both rich, full-bodied, exciting and very womanly. Barenboim seems to have a talent for drawing out highly passionate responses from women.

Selection includes Letters of Mozart family members written during their intensive traveling years (1763-72), narrated by Nikolaus, Maximilian and Laya Harnoncourt.