Mozart: Overtures / Willens, Kölner Akademie
- BIS
- January 19, 2024
From the mid-seventeenth century onwards, the overture became an orchestral piece intended to precede a large-scale dramatic work. This recording brings together twelve overtures from Mozart’s operas. They foreshadow the action, sometimes stylistically, sometimes by quoting themes that will appear later, to create a dramatic impression before we even see anything on stage – think of the memorable overtures to Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflöte.
The twelve overtures brought together here cover 21 years of Mozart’s career: from Mithridate, composed when he was just 14, which testifies to the young composer’s familiarity with the galant style then in vogue, to La Clemenza di Tito (1791), the high point of his work in the opera seria genre that was to disappear with him, not forgetting masterpieces such as Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte.
The Kölner Akademie, playing on period instruments, and its conductor Michael Alexander Willens demonstrate Mozart’s unrivalled ability to capture the audience’s attention with these brilliant overtures, some of which are among his most famous works, both on stage and in concert.
REVIEW:
The interpretations are very fresh, the playing virtuosic. The historical instruments provide a clear, crisp, and transparent sound, which is reproduced by the sound engineers with good spatiality and balance, with a clean and beautifully present bass.
-- Pizzicato
Product Description:
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Release Date: January 19, 2024 
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UPC: 7318599920627 
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Catalog Number: BIS-2062 
-  Label: BIS 
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Number of Discs: 1 
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      Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 
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	Performer: Kolner Akademie 
Works:
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      Ascanio in Alba, K. 111: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Idomeneo, re di Creta, K. 366: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K. 384: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Così fan tutte, K. 588: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Der Schauspieldirektor, K. 486: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Mitridate, re di Ponto, K. 87: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      La finta giardiniera, K. 196: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Don Giovanni, K. 527: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Lucio Silla, K. 135: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      La clemenza di Tito, K. 621: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
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      Die Zauberflöte, K. 620: Overture Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ensemble: Kölner Akademie Conductor: Michael Alexander Willens 
 
          
        
 
