Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Duo Amadè, Catherine Mackintosh, Geoffrey Govier
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN0764
Release: 2009
Size: 281 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Violin Sonata No. 17 in C major, K296
01. I. Allegro vivace
02. II. Andante sostenuto
03. III. Rondo: Allegro
Violin Sonata No. 22 in A major, K305
04. I. Allegro di molto
05. II. Theme and Variations: Andante grazioso
Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K304
06. I. Allegro
07. II. Tempo di menuetto
Violin Sonata No. 23 in D major, K306
08. I. Allegro con spirito
09. II. Andantino cantabile
10. III. Allegretto
Catherine Mackintosh and Geoffrey Govier formed Duo Amadè in order to perform the charming and intimate works of Mozart for this combination in concert, often with readings from his family letters. In 2006 Duo Amadè performed the whole cycle at the Royal College of Music.
The first set of Duo Sonatas was released in late 2008 and received a Gramophone Editor’s Choice in praise of its musicality and ‘historically informed performance’. Mackintosh in particular has long been recognised as one of the pioneering early music protagonists and is fulfilling the ambition of a lifetime with the complete cycle of Duo Sonatas.
Duo Amadè once again offers a charming and intimate performance, presenting the Opus 1 sonatas KV 296, 304, 305 and 306 written in 1778 when sonatas for the piano ‘accompanied’ by a violin were then all the rage.
Geoffrey Govier plays a fortepiano after Anton Walter made by Christopher Clare in Cluny while Catherine plays a violin dating from 1703 by Giovanni Grancino. These instruments bring a lightness and freshness of articulation to these delightful works, entirely in keeping with the spirit of enlightenment in which the sonatas were written.