Mozart Trio

Cet album Cascavelle reprend ce qui semble être l'intégralité d'un concert Mozart de Clara Haskil, Otto Klemperer et l'Orchestre du Gürzenich de Cologne en 1956, complété par le Concerto de Schumann de quelques semaines postérieur avec Ernest Ansermet et son orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Comme date d'enregistrement la notice indique le 09 septembre 1956 pour Mozart et le 10 octobre 1956 pour Schumann alors que trône en fronton de la couverture de l'album un superbe « Live recording – Montreux April 9th 1956 ». Pourtant c'est bien cette dernière date d'avril qui semble erronée, le concert Mozart ayant bel et bien été donné dans le cadre du Septembre musical de Montreux.

F. Gulda was, according to eminent cellist Pierre Fournier, the foremost pianist of his generation. And HIS generation emcompassed big names like Alfred Brendel, Ingrid Haebler, Jorg Demus, and perhaps, even Maurizio Pollini. It is a great pity that Gulda wasn't in league with 'the' eminent conductor Herbert von Karajan. This precluded many otherwise hot exposures of Gulda in discography. If pianists like Uchida could leave a complete set of Mozart sonatas, if Christoph Eschenbach could leave yet another complete set with good critical acclaim, certainly Friedrich Gulda's Mozart sonatas (and concerti) would have been hailed by ALL as the greatest ever!

F. Gulda was, according to eminent cellist Pierre Fournier, the foremost pianist of his generation. And HIS generation emcompassed big names like Alfred Brendel, Ingrid Haebler, Jorg Demus, and perhaps, even Maurizio Pollini. It is a great pity that Gulda wasn't in league with 'the' eminent conductor Herbert von Karajan. This precluded many otherwise hot exposures of Gulda in discography. If pianists like Uchida could leave a complete set of Mozart sonatas, if Christoph Eschenbach could leave yet another complete set with good critical acclaim, certainly Friedrich Gulda's Mozart sonatas (and concerti) would have been hailed by ALL as the greatest ever!

Cet album Cascavelle reprend ce qui semble être l'intégralité d'un concert Mozart de Clara Haskil, Otto Klemperer et l'Orchestre du Gürzenich de Cologne en 1956, complété par le Concerto de Schumann de quelques semaines postérieur avec Ernest Ansermet et son orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Comme date d'enregistrement la notice indique le 09 septembre 1956 pour Mozart et le 10 octobre 1956 pour Schumann alors que trône en fronton de la couverture de l'album un superbe « Live recording – Montreux April 9th 1956 ». Pourtant c'est bien cette dernière date d'avril qui semble erronée, le concert Mozart ayant bel et bien été donné dans le cadre du Septembre musical de Montreux.

In November 2004 a new name caused listeners to prick up their ears on the international orchestral scene: under Claudio Abbado’s artistic guidance the Orchestra Mozart came into being. It combines both young instrumentalists on the threshold of a first-rate career as well as eminent chamber musicians such as Danusha Waskiewicz, Alois Posch, Jacques Zoon, Michaela Petri, Ottavio Dantone, Mario Brunello, Alessio Allegrini, Jonathan Williams and Reinhold Friedrich. As with his famous Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Abbado hand-picked an ensemble to his liking, this time one of early- and Baroque-music specialists, all masters in their field.

Quatuor Ébène has done it again. After offering not only pristine and passionate performances of Ravel, Debussy, Faure, Brahms and their recent adventure into FICTION they return to the classics. This well recorded (very presence oriented) recital is all Mozart and it is understandable that this brilliant French quartet would elect to publicly cleanse the palette after the foray into music inspired by Hollywood.

Written between December 1782 and January 1785 the set of six string quartets which Mozart dedicated to Haydn are striking masterpieces, and that he meant them to be so is clear from the printed dedication to his older colleague. ''Dearest friend and famous man,'' he wrote, ''here are… these six sons of mine. They are the fruit of long and laborious effort. One thing has a little encouraged and comforted me: the hope, flatteringly whispered to me, that these musical works might one day be a joy to me… I therefore commend my children to you, hoping that they will not seem totally unworthy of your love.'' Furthermore, Mozart's choice of the medium seems appropriate since he and Haydn had on occasion played together as members of a string quartet, and both surely thought of it as a more refined vehicle for musical thought than the symphony orchestra.

This is one of the most beautiful chamber music recordings I have ever heard! The playing is absolutely superb! The phrasing is just lovely and the intonation perfect. After hearing this recording, one can hardly doubt the qualities of the historical instruments. The clear and soft sound of the gut string and the amazing period clarinet used creates something really amazing. Don't miss this one!

As the mysterious opening bars of the Kyrie gradually emerge into the light, we know that this recording of Mozart’s glorious Great Mass in C minor is a special one: the tempi perfect, the unfolding drama of the choral writing so carefully judged, and, above it all, the crystalline beauty of soloist Carolyn Sampson’s soprano, floating like a ministering angel. Masaaki Suzuki’s meticulous attention to detail, so rewarding in his remarkable Bach recordings, shines throughout this disc, the playing alert, the choir responsive, the soloists thrilling. And there is the bonus of an exhilarating Exsultate, Jubilate with Sampson on top form.

After several successful years as a freelancer in Vienna it appears as if Mozart was no longer interested in pleasing Viennese society’s taste with music for pure entertainment. The composer continued down the path of personal discovery he had embarked upon the year before, and with ever more resolve: while Vienna was still “Piano Land” to Mozart, it was now on his terms. His head was primarily full of opera. Mozart’s work on Figaro led him to paint situation and emotion with new colouristic tools which would spill over into the piano concertos that followed it, each of them imbued with a more fluid sense of dialogue between soloist and orchestra. The first concerto on this recording exchanges material with Figaro’s rapid, conversational and changeable style. He expands the orchestration and “there are manic changes in the music.