Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Rachel Podger, Gary Cooper
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Channel
Catalogue: CCSSA24607
Release: 2007
Size: 1.94 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Violin Sonata No. 19 in E-Flat Major, K. 302 / 293b
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Rondo. Andante grazioso
Violin Sonata No. 4 in G major, K9
03. I. Allegro spiritoso
04. II. Andante
05. III. Menuets I & II
Violin Sonata No. 21 in E Minor, K. 304 / 300c
06. I. Allegro
07. II. Tempo di Menuetto
Violin Sonata No. 14 in D major, K29
08. I. Allegro molto
09. II. Menuetto – Trio
Violin Sonata No. 35 in A major, K526
10. I. Molto allegro
11. II. Andante
12. III. Presto
“This young British duo are natural Mozartians, phrasing discerningly, summoning plenty of temperament when required, yet never over-egging the pudding when the composer is in guileless vein… the players responding creatively to each other’s phrasing.
The most poignant music here is the two-movement E minor Sonata (K304) that Mozart wrote in Paris not long after his mother died, a piece much beloved of Arthur Grumiaux and Clara Haskil, who recorded and played the work in recital. Rachel Podger and Gary Cooper also make a fine job of it, a more expansive one than we usually hear. Not that their tempi are anything less than well chosen: the extra length originates in their choice to repeat both halves of the first movement. Cooper’s playing at the start of the Minuet second movement is both delicate and elegant whereas the muted, ethereal sound both players conjure for the centre of K9’s finale is remarkable. The galant early D major Sonata (K29) shows JC Bach’s influence and the vividly orchestrated colouring of this Podger-Cooper rendition seems to underline that influence. Cooper’s tendency to expressively desynchronise chords, in parts of K302’s Rondeau, for example, is very appealing.
The really big event musically speaking is the magnificent A major work (K526), the last but one of Mozart’s violin sonatas; the first movement is as extrovert as it is inventive (especially in terms of its varied rhythmic emphases), the slow movement one of Mozart’s finest – a justified prompt for both players to favour an almost operatic approach. Podger in particular adjusts and alters her tone projection more effectively and expressively than most period players do.
Most attractive is the duo’s relative freedom, their refusal to be bound by bar-lines: there’s an appealing fluidity about their playing. Add excellent sound, and the recommendation is clinched.
Podger in particular adjusts and alters her tone projection more effectively and expressively than most period players do. I also like the duo’s relative freedom, their refusal to be bound by bar-lines: there’s an appealing fluidity about their playing. Add excellent sound, and the recommendation is clinched.
Take a glimpse:
Gary Cooper, Rachel Podger: Mozart – Complete Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin vol.2 (24/192 FLAC)
Gary Cooper, Rachel Podger: Mozart – Complete Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin vol.3 (24/192 FLAC)
Rogers, Podger: W. A. Mozart, J. M. Haydn – Duo Sonatas (24/192 FLAC)
Podger, Glynn: Mozart/Jones – Violin Sonatas Fragment Completions (24/192 FLAC)