Mozart Von Der Gozt

This is probably Mozart’s least interesting opera–if indeed it is an opera at all. Composed at the end of 1771 in honor of the 50th anniversary of Salzburg’s Archbishop Schrattenbach, its performance was cancelled due to the archbishop’s sudden death. Mozart re-dedicated it to the new archbishop (Colloredo). There is still doubt as to whether it was ever performed. It’s in one act of just under two hours and is concerned with the Roman general Scipio, who in a dream is made to choose between the godesses Fortune and Constancy to guide him through life. Needless to say, he chooses Constancy over luck, and we don’t care.

DG and the Freiburger Barockorchester, one of the world’s foremost period-instrument orchestras, launch a new creative partnership with an album of works associated with the celebrated Mannheim court orchestra. Mozart’s Mannheim couples little-known gems by Cannabich, Holzbauer, Vogler and others with works written by Mozart during his formative visit to Mannheim in the late 1770s.

It is true that images have the power to keep a trace of the past. Gottfried von der Goltz and the Freiburger Barockorchestra prove with this recording that music too conceals the secret of the memory deep within. Though rarely played, much less recorded, Mozart’s youth symphonies bear the reminiscence of the child the composer used to be, as well as including the seeds of his future masterpieces.

In the 1770s Johann Christian Bach may have been among the most successful and prosperous musicians in all of Europe. In the 18th century the youngest son of Bach was regarded as the most famous and successful members of the Bach family. However, it appears his reputation faded even during his lifetime – today he is known by many only as a forerunner of Mozart. The new recording of five of his orchestral works, a sequel in the Carus CD series with instrumental music of Bach’s sons, shows that his music has been unjustly forgotten and that definitely it breathes its own independent spirit. Similar to Mozart, the “Milan Bach,” later known as the “London Bach” knew how to pour his varied musical experiences into his works and thus achieve his own unique style.

Haydn's importance in the development of both the symphony and the string quartet is well known and his works in those genres have become staples of the repertoire. However, the great composer's piano concerti are not performed nearly as often as those of Mozart or Beethoven. After listening to these glorious performances by fortepianist Andreas Staier, originally released in 2005, you will wonder why.

For those new to Mendelssohn's music, this might look like a recording of some major works of the composer; be aware that they're virtually unknown music of Mendelssohn's early teens, first published in complete form only in 1999. For those already a fan of Mendelssohn, however, they're very intriguing works that show the developing talents of the young composer in a different light than do the set of twelve-string symphonies that are his most frequently performed works of the period.

Writing about Bach's six sonatas and partitas for solo violin often focuses on the nature of the music: Are the pieces humanistic in tone? Do they reflect deep spiritual-numerological concerns? But the first thing the average listener is likely to notice about them is their sheer difficulty: their monumental quality comes in part from the fact that, as with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the musicians are struggling to re-create the music. That's partly the result of playing the music on a violin that wasn't built for it, and although there are plenty of recordings on a Baroque violin there are fewer players who have the means to deliver the music cleanly and confidently on one.