Mozart piano sonatas

[Todd]

Just finished an enjoyable second run-through of Leon McCawley's 2006 Mozart sonata cycle on Avie.  Plenty of plusses about this set, and only a couple minuses.  The plusses include vibrant playing, superb clarity and independence of hands, a not-too-light and never too-heavy approach to the works, and top-flight playing all round.  The minuses include almost excessive detail at times, and sound that doesn't sound quite right. 

To elaborate on the minuses, starting with excess detail, I would have to say that McCawley's cycle has the most precise Mozart playing I've heard.  His ability to play everything with absolute clarity and precision is often amazing, like in the variations of K331, but at times it drains the works of a bit of drama, like in K310 and a couple later sonatas.  It's not that his playing is cold, it's just that such precision offers a different approach.  In some ways it reminds me of Pollini's playing, though with more nuance (perhaps).  The upside to this is that the earlier sonatas (K2..) have rarely sounded so impressive.

The sound is generally excellent, with gobs of detail and clarity, but it also sounds a bit too processed and the high frequencies sound just a tad too hot, leading to listening fatigue before a whole disc is done.  I must note that the liner notes include thanks regarding reverberation specifically, the first time I've seen that.

So it looks like I'm down on the set at least a bit, but I'm really not.  Indeed, this is one of the better digital cycles I've heard.  Michael Endres is much more to my taste among contemporary sets, but even so, Leon McCawley's cycle is outstanding, and my negative comments ultimately amount to nothing more than quibbles.  This will receive many spins in the future.

[Josquin des Prez]

One thing with Mozart is his music should always sound as if it's sung, the other thing is there's always some form of drama (serious or funny) going on. Another thing is the music should always be on the move. There is so much happening, in terms of thematic work and harmony, that it would be a sin to linger.

Yes:

http://rapidshare.com/files/388901736/1783_-_k332__Piano_Sonata_in_F.rar.html

Some of the sonatas stand up to average intepertrations, like the K331, but i never noticed how underrated this one was until i heard this performance.

[Sergeant Rock]

There is so much happening, in terms of thematic work and harmony, that it would be a sin to linger.

There is so much happening, in terms of thematic work and harmony, that it would be a sin not to linger occasionally.

Sarge

[Josquin des Prez]

There is so much happening, in terms of thematic work and harmony, that it would be a sin not to linger occasionally.

Sarge

Nonsense. Those who linger around understand nothing about Mozart. Its pretentious, phony and more often then not entirely self indulgent.

[Sergeant Rock]

Nonsense. Those who linger around understand nothing about Mozart. Its pretentious, phony and more often then not entirely self indulgent.

Right...only those pianists who sprint through Mozart understand him. Right...how could I fail to understand that? I am such a dunce.Thank you so much for your insightful correction. I will now throw away all my Uchida recordings.

Sarge

[Scarpia]

Thank you so much for your insightful correction. I will now throw away all my Uchida recordings.

Well, that bit about not lingering is nonsense, but I've gotten rid of my Uchida recordings long ago.   

[Sergeant Rock]

Well, that bit about not lingering is nonsense, but I've gotten rid of my Uchida recordings long ago.   

Yeah, she seems to evoke passionate feelings in listeners, both pro and con. Who do like in the Sonatas? I own sets by Barenboim (plays them like Beethoven, giving the lie to the argument that the sonatas are just pretty, tinkly, music box pieces), Gould (plays many of them with little respect for the scrore but fascinating insight) and Uchida.

Sarge

[Scarpia]

Yeah, she seems to evoke passionate feelings in listeners, both pro and con. Who do like in the Sonatas? I own sets by Barenboim (plays them like Beethoven, giving the lie to the argument that the sonatas are just pretty, tinkly, music box pieces), Gould (plays many of them with little respect for the scrore but fascinating insight) and Uchida.

Sarge

Have had Barenboim for a while but don't find it captures the spirit of the music.  I maintain one Uchida disc just to remind myself that I don't like it.  I've recently gotten Brautigam, which I think will become a favorite. 

[Sergeant Rock]

Have had Barenboim for a while but don't find it captures the spirit of the music.

It's likely my definition of the spirit of Mozart's music is a little broader than yours. In any case, with music I love, I like to have a range of interpretive choices. Barenboim reminds me that Mozart and Beethoven were contemporaries.

Sarge

[Scarpia]

It's likely my definition of the spirit of Mozart's music is a little broader than yours. In any case, with music I love, I like to have a range of interpretive choices. Barenboim reminds me that Mozart and Beethoven were contemporaries.

Sarge

Well, maybe I should give it another chance.  Barenboim's Mozart PC cycle with Berlins is outrageous in the way it romanticizes the music, but I do like it.

[Josquin des Prez]

Right...only those pianists who sprint through Mozart understand him.

Nobody said anything about sprinting through it. Its about maintaining the organic unity of the music without lingering or wallowing into petty details or ornaments. It requires a greater understanding of the music to maintain the whole rather then focus on the detail.

Compare Uchida with the Casadesus i linked to earlier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwLekt7WUYA

Dandy, mannered, perky. Its just plain dreadful.

[prémont]

Nobody said anything about sprinting through it. Its about maintaining the organic unity of the music without lingering or wallowing into petty details or ornaments. It requires a greater understanding of the music to maintain the whole rather then focus on the detail.

Maybe I have asked you earlier, but who are your preferred interpreters of Mozart´s Piano sonatas?

[Scarpia]

Dandy, mannered, perky. Its just plain dreadful.

Hmmm, maybe I should reconsider Uchida.   

[Mandryka]

Well, maybe I should give it another chance.  Barenboim's Mozart PC cycle with Berlins is outrageous in the way it romanticizes the music, but I do like it.

There is one PC in that cycle -- PC 16 -- which is one of my favourite Mozart Concerto recordings.

The rest of the set doesn't much interest me -- but his 16 is peerless.

[Mandryka]

Nobody said anything about sprinting through it. Its about maintaining the organic unity of the music without lingering or wallowing into petty details or ornaments. It requires a greater understanding of the music to maintain the whole rather then focus on the detail.

Well that's not what Herman actially said, I think. It maybe what he meant.

Of course you can slow Mozart which "maintaining the organic unity of the music " -- Gilels certainly. Arrau too I would say. Richter's not fast either.

[Josquin des Prez]

Maybe I have asked you earlier, but who are your preferred interpreters of Mozart´s Piano sonatas?

Robert Casadesus in both the concertos and sonatas. Unfortunately, he didn't record all of them and i still haven't found a proper complement. Maybe Moravec, but even with him there's still quite a few missing sonatas (the only sonata where they don't overlap is the k570).

[Josquin des Prez]

Well that's not what Herman actially said, I think. It maybe what he meant.

I'm talking about the why. Herman was indicating the how.

[Sergeant Rock]

Nobody said anything about sprinting through it.

Nobody (but you) said anything about wallowing.

Its about maintaining the organic unity of the music without lingering or wallowing into petty details or ornaments. It requires a greater understanding of the music to maintain the whole rather then focus on the detail.

That's one way of looking at the music, and one I appreciate. But I also believe music is in the detail, and the musician who presents those details in order to illuminate the score understands the music as well as, maybe better than the "structuralists" you admire. The greatest artists, in my opinion, are those who do both. There is nothing in Uchida's way with Mozart that destroys the music's organic unity.

I repeat, I want to hear music I love played in various ways, interpreted by individuals. No one owns these sonatas. There is no pre-ordained way Mozart must be played. Adding an expressive touch, indulging in the occasional agogic distortion, bringing out an inner voice, does not destroy the music or the structure but can illuminate the meaning. That's what great artists do. Playing the music absolutely straight to the clicking of a metronome is what renders it sterile, lifeless.

Compare Uchida with the Casadesus i linked to earlier

I don't need the links. I have many Mozart recordings by both pianists...love them both...something you'll never understand, I realize.

Sarge

[Sergeant Rock]

There is one PC in that cycle -- PC 16 -- which is one of my favourite Mozart Concerto recordings.

The rest of the set doesn't much interest me -- but his 16 is peerless.

Barenboim/Berlin's last movement of 22 is extraordinary, I think. And Scarpia is right: very romanticized Mozart...but hey, Wolfie can take it 

Sarge

[Bulldog]

That's one way of looking at the music, and one I appreciate. But I also believe music is in the detail, and the musician who presents those details in order to illuminate the score understands the music as well as, maybe better than the "structuralists" you admire. The greatest artists, in my opinion, are those who do both. There is nothing in Uchida's way with Mozart that destroys the music's organic unity.

I repeat, I want to hear music I love played in various ways, interpreted by individuals. No one owns these sonatas. There is no pre-ordained way Mozart must be played. Adding an expressive touch, indulging in the occasional agogic distortion, bringing out an inner voice, does not destroy the music or the structure but can illuminate the meaning. That's what great artists do. Playing the music absolutely straight to the clicking of a metronome is what renders it sterile, lifeless.

I don't need the links. I have many Mozart recordings by both pianists...love them both...something you'll never understand, I realize.

Sarge

Excellent posting.  I also think very highly of both Uchida and Casadesus in Mozart.  Great music lends itself to a variety of interpretations and that's why I have many versions of the music I most love.