Daniel Ben Pienaar The Long 17th Century: A Cornucopia of Early

At the age of 22, Mozart was bemoaning lost love and decided to ‘apply myself conscientiously to the clavier duets’, He finished the full set of six Sonatas for Piano – with Violin – in the summer of 1778 and dedicated to the Countess Elizabeth Auguste, Electress of Palatine and Bavaria. They have become known as the ‘Palatine Sonatas’ and are the earliest (relatively) mature works in this instrumental combination, his first essays in the form being at the age of ten. As piano sonatas with violin (as opposed to the Violin Sonatas of later musical eras) these pieces have exquisite balance and are in fact wonderful in every sense; a pure joy. They are dazzlingly colourful, full of drama and emotion. The artists were particularly keen to present these works in an authentic ambience, as in an 18th century salon, and the result is a beautiful balance and intimacy. Peter Sheppard Skærved is a world renowned violinist, author, musicologist, artist and researcher.

Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar came from South Africa and was largely trained there. Very well equipped technically, he has a gift for unorthodox interpretations that he seems to have thought out on his own and to have developed the technical tools to execute. His thoroughly pianistic version of Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, will appeal to those who like Glenn Gould's versions, especially the earlier one. In the beginning, in fact, Pienaar seems to be offering a sort of updated Gould reading, without the humming.