Mozart: Così Fan Tutte

The English television program TWO THOUSAND YEARS charts relative chronologies in world history, religion, art and science as seen from the perspective of the end of the second millenium, and this two disc anthology taken from the soundtrack follows that progress in music, specifically sacred choral music ranging from the 6th century chant of the Russian Saint Romanus to the late 20th century minimalism of Henryk Gorecki.
The selection is admirably chosen and well distributed through the centuries, especially generous in the amount of earlier music included. There are a few surprises, such as the deeply affecting "Woe is me" of English renaissance composer Thomas Tomkins or the uplifting "Dawn" of current-day New Yorker Meredith Monk, as well as the moving Agnus Dei of Samuel Barber, which is a lesser-known vocal arrangement of his famous Adagio for Strings.
The performances, featuring the Choir of Trinity College, the King's Singers and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Colin Davis, are all first rate and well-recorded.

Classical Music

Alessandra Gentile with the Perugia Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christian Schmitt, a monographic album dedicated to W.A. Mozart with the two Concertos for piano and orchestra no. 19 and no. 9. The CD opens with the Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 19 KV 459, completed in Vienna in 1784 and performed in 1790 by Mozart himself in Frankfurt on the occasion of the celebrations for the coronation of Leopold II (and for this reason called the second Coronation Concerto) and published posthumously in 1800. A piece that appears particularly lively, not only for the enriched instrumentation of the wind instruments, but also and above all for the brilliant indications of meter and tempo and for the incredible richness of the writing. The Concerto no. 19 KV 459 is followed in the tracklist by a largescale work, the Concerto for piano and orchestra no. 9 KV 271, also in three movements, composed in Salzburg between 1776 and 1777, a piece considered among the milestones of Mozart's vast repertoire. The recorded program thus allows us to rediscover with new sophistication two cornerstones of Salzburg's genius, entrusted to the interpretation of Alessandra Gentile and Christian Schmitt conducting the Perugia Chamber Orchestra, a group that debuted in 2013 and collaborates regularly with important masters, soloists and choral groups."

W.A. Mozart - Symphony No. 35 "Haffner", Piano Concerto No. 24

A unique take on Mozart's music from the organ loft. Mozart wrote sparingly for the solo organ - a relatively early collection of short Epistle Sonatas for liturgical use, and later on a few more individual pieces for a new mechanical organ. In neither case was he using the full extent of a large instrument as exploited by his Baroque predecessors. At the same time, Mozart himself was no stranger to the organ loft; he would have been regularly playing the instrument at St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna had his plans come to fruition and he had lived long enough to attain the post of Director of Music there. Manuel Tomadin has imaginatively filled in this gap in the Mozart catalogue, as it were, with his own transcriptions of pieces particularly well suited to the soundworld of the organ. The A minor Sonata K310 shares a surging, Sturm und Drang sensibility with the two fantasias, in C minor and D minor. In turn this character lends itself to the Gothic grandeur of the 'king of instruments', when sensitively registered and nimbly executed. The coloristic possibilities of the organ, it's dynamic range and effects of perspective, are also put to dramatic use in bringing to life two of Mozart's opera overtures, from Cosi fan tutte and Die Zauberflote. Tomadin does not neglect the roots of Mozart's music in the Baroque, with a transcription of the rococo G major sonata K283 which he wrote at the age of 18, plus a much less familiar Preludio and Capriccio in C K394. In both of these pieces, Mozart was drawing on the legacy of CPE Bach, who had given him lessons as a child - a period to which Tomadin pays tribute with another rarity, one of the 'London Sketches' preserved in notebook form from the family's stay in the English capital. Tomadin has chosen an original and historically appropriate instrument for this fascinating exploration of Mozart on the organ, built in the late 1780s by the Montesanti firm for the parish church of Governolo in the province of Lombardy. The booklet includes a full specification of the organ, plus Tomadin's own introduction to the repertoire and his approach to it as a transcriber and performer. - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) had a profound connection with the church organ, an instrument that played a significant role in his musical development. As a child prodigy, Mozart was exposed to the organ in church settings, where he often performed. The organ's grandeur and complexity influenced his compositional style, particularly in his sacred music. - Although Mozart called it "The King of instruments" he wrote comparatively few works for the organ. Organist Manuel Tomadin professes his love for the composer and his considerable skill as an organist by transcribing several works for the organ: the overtures Cosi fan tutte and Die Zauberflote, two piano sonatas K 283 and 310, and several small keyboard works, perfectly suited for performance on the organ. - Played on a historical instrument: the 1788-1790 Andrea & Luigi Montesanti organ of the Parish Church of Governolo, Italy. - A feast of colours and timbres, celebrating the genius of Mozart's eternal music!

Fresh from his triumphant onstage success in Paris, Berlin and Brussels singing leading roles in the operas of Rameau and Mozart, tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen presents his long-awaited first Mozart recording. Together with his ensemble A Nocte Temporis, he has devised a highly imaginative programme. From the eleven single opera and concert arias for tenor and orchestra that are ascribed to Mozart, the Belgian tenor has selected those that are entirely in the composer's hand - leaving out the ones completed or reconstructed by others, and adding an exquisite aria from Mitridate, re di Ponto. Mozart was only nine years old when in 1765, during his stay in London, he launched into his first opera aria for tenor and orchestra, to verses from a libretto by Metastasio. At the end of 1766, on his return to Salzburg, the child prodigy composed Or che il Dover - Tali e cotanti sono KV 36 for a festive celebration, making the court aware of his enormous talent. Throughout his career, alongside his own operas Mozart also wrote arias intended for insertion into the operas of other composers, hidden masterpieces that now receive revelatory performances.

Flanked on this recording by the Missa brevis in G major, the only example of a 'Pastoral' Mass by Mozart, and the emotive Missa brevis in F major, the precocious Mass in C major was composed at the age of only 13. It is a dramatic setting of sizeable proportions, with the Gloria and Credo themselves the length of a Missa brevis setting. The 'Dominicus' Mass shows a deepening of Mozart's contrapuntal and harmonic language, with more adventurous and memorable melodies for the soloists.

Cos� fan tutte, a comic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, is noted for it's sophisticated ensemble writing and Mozart's nuanced portrayal of the characters' emotional journeys. The opera's overture, and arias such as "Come scoglio" and "Un'aura amorosa", showcase the composer's melodic genius and ability to convey complex psychological states through music, making it one of Mozart's most performed and beloved operas, celebrated for it's wit, intricate musical textures and insightful commentary on the human condition. This great opera is here arranged for wind quintet by Ulf-Guido Schafer, a multiple Echo-Klassik award-winning clarinettist who has held principal posts with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie (1989-94) and the NDR Radiophilharmonie (1994-present) and boasts a distinguished career as a soloist and chamber musician (in ensemble acht, the Trio Roseau, the NDR's Arte-Ensemble, and the Ma'alot Quintett). Schafer has also made a name for himself as an arranger and composer. He was twice awarded the Echo-Klassik for CDs with the Ma'alot Quintett featuring his arrangements of Dvorak (2006) and Rossini (2010), respectively. Other information: - Recorded May 2024 in Trivolzio (Italy) - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Lorenzo Fazzini and a profile of the ensemble - Mozart's operas enjoyed such success and popularity in their time, that tunes from them were whistled in the street and arrangements of them were widely spread. - One of the most popular forms of arrangement was for Wind Ensemble, and already during Mozart's life these were often performed on all kind of occasions. - This new recording presents an arrangement for wind ensemble by Ulf-Guido Schafer, a highly successful clarinetist, composer and arranger, winner of several ECHO Klassik Awards. - Founded in 2019, the Spiritum Wind Quintet consists of Lorenzo Fazzini, Luca Etzi, Riccardo Nanni, Vincenzo Riccio, and Giacomo Alfano. All of them have won prizes in (inter)national competitions, and each enjoys a successful individual solo career.

MOZART SONATAS is the moving final collaboration between Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico and violinist Jacques Israelievitch. Battling late stage cancer, Israelievitch rallied his strength to finish this complete recording of Mozart's piano and violin sonatas just months before passing away. The album shows how Mozart's compositional style developed; his early sonatas favor the piano, but the violin gradually grows in importance as we reach the later sonatas. This ambitious five-volume collection includes noted violin-piano sonatas like the Palatine Sonatas and the Auernhammer Set. These masterful performances are a proud final entry in Israelievitch's recorded catalog and stand as a powerful testament to the human spirit.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must have felt bored to death in small-town Salzburg! Fortunately, his ambitious father regularly gave him the opportunity to experience big-time action. On extended concert tours he introduced his genial son at courts and in salons, and the boy took advantage of his absence from the Prince Archbishop's court to absorb all sorts of impressions for use in his own music. It was on his travels to Italy and to imperial Vienna that he composed the thirteen string quartets featured on this edition by the Leipzig String Quartet - now in its second volume...and to be continued! The Leipzig String Quartet explores the youthful composer's discovery drive with audible joy. Historically informed and with bows proper to the period of the quartets' composition, the four musicians are ready to enjoy playing with chamber music's surprises. Not at all academic and far from any kind of historicizing dogmatism, they generate listening pleasure and suspense - so that we can hardly wait for the third volume!

Classical Music

MOZART LEGENDARY INTERPRETATIO

MOZART: IL RE PASTORE VAUGHAN

Soloists were principals of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy.