Customer Reviews

Mozart: Piano & Violin Sonatas [Hybrid SACD]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have also reviewed this exceptional recording as a hybrid CD. As might be expected, the sound is amazing. Next to this, listening to even the fine Perlman set on DGG is like watching an old black and white movie from the 1940's next to a modern, color film. The differences don't stop with sound quality, however. Mozart is rendered with passion, nuance and finesse in these delicious performances. Steinberg has also played with the Brentano string quartet, an energetic and rising ensemble. He throws himself into these sonatas with energy and imagination. He also prepared the notes, which, while a tad over-written, are far from the arid stuff one too often encounters. They also are imaginative and reward the time spent contemplating his ideas. There is plenty of food for thought here. Mitsuko Uchida, who has made a reputation with recordings of Debussy and Schubert piano music, not to mention the complete Mozart piano concerti and sonatas, is breaking new ground as an accompanist. She recently enjoyed tremendous success in a recording with Ian Bostridge of Schubert's "Die Schone Mullerin." Here, her talent brings real luster to the playing. I think she has improved noticeably since she made the earlier Mozart recordings. Plainly, she is one of the finest pianists alive. There are of course many fine performances of the Mozart piano and violin sonatas, but this one is special. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Mitsuko Uchida has made a name for herself playing all the Mozart sonatas and concerti for piano, as well as Schubert piano works and an underappreciated CD of Schumann's Kreisleriana and Carnaval, among other things. Now she is breaking new ground as an accompanist. After a highly successful recording of Schubert's "Die Schone Mullerin" with Ian Bostridge, Ms. Uchida has essayed a gorgeous set of some of Mozart's more delicious piano and violin sonatas with Mark Steinberg of the Brentano string quartet - an energetic and rising young ensemble. Mr. Steinberg has a number of other recordings to his credit, including Schumann chamber music. He has also prepared the notes for this edition, which are far from the arid, technical remarks one often sees. He may overwrite, but he gives a lot to think about. The recording is lush and sparkling on this Philips hybrid SACD. (You can listen to it on any CD player, however.) There are of course many other competing recordings of Mozart's violin sonatas, but this one is special. The playing is elegant, nuanced and expressive. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Just pick out a sonata and sit back and listen. These are gems of the repertoire and lovingly rendered.

Many performers these days are showing the way to playing the music of the Classical era on modern instruments in a historically informed manner. Being a violinist rather than a pianist, I do not feel qualified to critique Mitsuko Uchida's performance, so I will instead concentrate on violinist Mark Steinberg. Like the best period violinists, Steinberg uses his bow as a true expressive instrument, not just a means of stringing notes together; his articulations are myriad and his bowing has a real light touch. He uses vibrato as an expressive effect too, minimizing it for a chilling opening to the E minor Sonata. He is alive to the rambunctiousness of Mozart's humor, and to his dramatic and rhetorical gestures. In brief, Uchida and Steinberg's Mozart is music as language, not the conventional Mozart of generic mellifluous sounds. If it were up to me, I would have chosen different sonatas than the F major and C major ones included here; but, of course, everyone is bound to have their favorites.

As a side note, I concur with another reviewer on the narcissistic quality of the cover photo. However, to be fair, this disc is part of a Mozart series featuring Uchida, and so technically she is the center of the show, with Steinberg a featured "guest".

The performances are nice, but the quality of the recording is awful. There's noise (and I don't mean studio noise) in the background, the piano sounds like it's wrapped in a blanket, and the violin sounds far away and muddy. And it's not multichannel. Even a moderately well done CD would put this disc to shame. Waste of SACD technology and my money.

Uchida is no doubt one of the best Mozart interpreters in the history, and her role in those sonatas is absolutely full of inspiration and elegance.
However, the violinst really damage some part of music. He is very good at soft passages, but everytime when he plays forty, the sound is scratchy and flat, sometimes even rude.
Hope Uchida will record some more mozart duo sonatas with a better violinst.

Pianist Mitsuko Uchida has wonderful touch, as always, and violinist Mark Steinberg displays quite a graceful touch of his own as they romp through this delightful music. Like many classical music fans, I sometimes get caught up in orchestral music to the point that when I do hear a recording like this one, I suddenly remember what a delight chamber music can be. Highly recommended, although I prefer the performances of Hahn and Zhu.

I can not get over how wanderfull this recording is.It is as it was not "clasical" music which is recorded here.It is a musical
experiance.Experiance in sound.Sound is shaped beyond anything I've ever heard.This music has a touch of Indian citar
sound but it is definitely Mozart!

I so love this cd. I'm an artist (painter) [...]

i play this in my studio and it is for a while now, my favorite Mozart cd. I'm a big fan of Mozart, particularly the operas.

just awesome.

gorgeous, slow, clever and gentle.

A while ago I started researching Mozart music, and ended up downloading nearly everything that exists. This is probably my favorite. I also like a cd of piano sonatas. When I want a gigantic sound, I go for "Le Nozze di Figaro". That opera rocks my world.

But this cd is the most beautiful instrumentally.

What a fabulous CD this is! Besides enjoying it ourselves we also play it during service at our tea room and the clientle just loves it! The piano and violin combination is both exciting and relaxing, the musical arrangements first rate - and what can one say about any piece composed by Mozart except perhaps...Encore!