Knut Hamsen

These sonatas date from the final part of Mozart’s life, when he was in his early thirties and at the height of his genius. Having recently entered into Freemasonry, Mozart, who had shaken off the paternal yoke and authority of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, was living in Vienna, and it was in Vienna that he composed these two Sonatas. Mozart’s music, whether expressive or energetic, light, fierce, elegant or austere, reveals the expectations, the hopes and the dramas that characterised his life.

Bluegrass? Jazz? Ambient? With piano and Weissenborn guitar, Lien and Hem create music for inner wanderings.

Being that Schubert was suffering great mental and physical anguish at the time of his Octet’s completion in 1824, it’s surprising that the work is so sunny and optimistic. At a little over an hour, it’s the Austrian composer’s longest chamber work—and his most inspired. With just eight instruments, Schubert crafts an opening movement on the scale of a Beethoven symphony, ideas ricocheting between strings and woodwind, bass and treble. The “Adagio” is a sublime song for clarinet that rivals Mozart for its understated beauty while an ebullient central scherzo, stately variations, and suave minuetto culminate in a finale of intense drama that seems to glance toward Wagner. It’s all stunningly recorded and performed, too—a benchmark performance full of wit, passion, and charm.

At the Collegiate Church in Stuttgart, the largest regional church in Württemberg (South Germany), and burial site of the Dukes of Württemberg, who lived in the neighbouring castle, a new organist was appointed in 1652: Philipp Friedrich Böddecker (1607-1683). His Sacra Partitura, a collection of eight motets and two sonatas, was printed in Strasbourg in 1651, when his negotiation with the church council had already begun. These compositions might have been decisive for Böddeckers appointment, particularly as the composer dedicated the collection to the Dukes musical sister, Duchess Sibylla. The music is composed in typical concertante style, but influenced by Italian monody and Monteverdis seconda pratica.