Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Rachel Podger, Gary Cooper
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Channel
Catalogue: CCSSA21804
Release: 2004
Size: 2.41 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Violin Sonata No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 / 373a
01. Ia. Adagio
02. Ib. Allegro
03. II. Thema. Andantino cantabile – Var. I, II, III, IV – Var. V. Adagio – Thema. Allegretto – Coda
Violin Sonata No. 1 in C Major, K6
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Andante
06. III. Menuettos I & II
07. IV. Allegro molto
Violin Sonata No. 36 in F major, K547 ‘For Beginners’
08. I. Andantino cantabile
09. II. Allegro
10. III. Thema. Andante – Var. I, II, III, IV, V, VI
Violin Sonata No. 26 in B-Flat Major, K. 378 / 317d
11. I. Allegro moderato
12. II. Andantino sostenuto e cantabile
13. III. Rondo. Allegro
This is Volume 1 of a complete set, and the series certainly gets off to a cracking start. The recording gives the fortepiano (an Adlam copy of a 1795 Anton Walther instrument) a full, rich, sound; the balance with the violin is excellent – it’s as though we’re listening in a small but resonant room.
The noble introductory Adagio of K379 sounds wonderfully colourful, and is followed by an unusually passionate, intense performance of the Sonata’s G minor Allegro. It’s taken at a faster tempo than usual, and we’re persuaded to think of it as a worthy forerunner of the great G minor works to come. It’s the CD’s high point, perhaps, but the first two movements of K378 run it close; the opening Allegro moderato is spacious, flexible and expressive, and the second movement warm and sensuous.
Gary Cooper plays with considerable freedom, often spreading chords to soften their impact or for extra expressiveness, and ornamenting repeated passages most imaginatively.
Rachel Podger doesn’t generally ornament her part; her accompaniments are unforced and flow easily, and she enjoys taking the lead, playing boldly yet with sensitivity.Mozart’s first sonata, K6, begun when he was six, is a lively piece, but you’d never guess the composer. And K547, intended as an educational piece, has nothing of the expressive depth of the other late sonatas. But Cooper and Podger’s playing remains suited to the music’s character, unaffectedly bringing out its charm and vitality.
