As one of the finest pianists of his era and an improviser of genius, Ludwig van Beethoven’s preferred vehicle for musical exploration was the piano. His earliest composition, from 1782, was a set of piano variations and he continued to compose for solo piano until the last years of his life. His interest in the concerto form diminished as his deafness forced him to retire from performing. Nonetheless, with his five piano concertos composed between 1788 and 1809, Beethoven not only achieved a brilliant conclusion to the Classical piano concerto, but also established a new model for the Romantic era: a sort of symphony with obbligato piano which remained a reference point well into the beginning of the twentieth.
With the belief that “No opera loses so much as Die Zauberflöte if one strips it of its drama and that means, above all, the spoken dialogue,” René Jacobs’ agenda in Die Zauberflöte is to rehabilitate the reputation of Schikaneder’s libretto. At the heart of his reassesment is the idea that Schikaneder and Mozart’s Masonic message is deeper and more carefully presented than we have thought. He suggests that seemingly silly or inconsistent aspects of the story are put there as intentional false paths as the audience, not only the prince and the bird catcher, undergoes its own trials of initiation. The opera’s symbolism and structure are explained in convincing detail in an essay in the booklet by the Egyptologist and Mozart researcher Jan Assman.
Behind every Mozart solo piano composition is the human voice, and many interpreters understandably build their interpretations from the melody line down. By contrast, fortepianist Andreas Staier generates rhythmic and dramatic momentum by letting his left hand lead, so to speak. His firm, sharply delineated bass lines in the C minor sonata's outer movements and the E-flat sonata's Allegro finale evoke a symphonic rather than operatic aura that proves far more stimulating than Paul Badura-Skoda's equally rigorous yet less vibrant fortepiano traversals.
JOHN ELIOT GARDINER und ein junges Sängerensemble bezaubern den Hörer: Christiane Oelze ist eine betörend sympatische Pamina. So gestochen scharfe und dabei klangvolle Koloraturen wie von Cyndia Sieden habe ich so noch nicht gehört; eine Königin der Extraklasse! Auch Michael Schade als Tamino und Gerald Finley als Papageno bestechen mit ihren wohlkingenden und ausdrucksfähigen Stimmen.
There's magic in these musical hills, as conductor Arnold Östman leads an exemplary performance of Die Zauberflöte on original instruments.Sumi Jo's breathtaking Queen of the Night is the queen of intonation, while Barbara Bonny's Pamina is a phrasing angel, from her pianissimo B flats to her gentle, yet heartfelt, "Ach ich fühl's." Singing as comfortably as a folk singer, Kurt Streit's lyrical, yet dramatic, Tamino is manly and heroic. Gilles Cachemaille is an appropriately charming Papageno, and all supporting performances are stellar. This crystal-clear interpretation must be as close to perfection as Mozart probably dreamed. A true treasure.