Customer Reviews

Mozart: The Violin Sonatas

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Many years ago, I owned, on vinyl, Mozart's Violin Sonatas. I don't remember the artists; however, I DO remember enjoying them immensely. Therefore, when the opportunity came with this recording to restore the complete Violin Sonatas by Mozart to my CD collection, I "jumped" at the chance. After all, this is Mozart's two-hundredth fifieth birthday; plus the recording is at a ridiculously low price, and MOST OF ALL, the recording features the esteemed musical team of Perlman and Barenboim--WHAT could be better than that? Please be advised, that my expectations have been fully realized and in actuality, they have been surpassed-the music is far more beautiful than I remember with Perlman and Barenboim making an exquisite musical team playing Mozart's gorgeous Violin Sonatas beautifully and sensitively!

If you love Mozart and want to hear some beautiful works played by masters of their respective instruments(at an unbelievable price) buy this CD collection. You will love it! The sound is great too belying the age of the recordings. They sound, to me, as if they were recorded very recently. In other words, great transfers to the CD format!

As seen before, and known to the general public of classical music lovers and fans, the phenomenal pianist Daniel Barenboim, and the virtuoso violinst Itzhak Perlman join together in making this CD a splendid joy to the ears.

There is not even one bad thing that I can say about Perlman's playing the violin sonatas therefore I will talk about the pianists part in this recording.

For starters, when I bought this CD, I have never before lisened to the Mozart Violin Sonatas successivley played at all.
Actually, the first reason for which I bought this CD was because it starred Barenboim, my most favourite pianist ever, so I decided to add this CD to my collection, as another CD of his, mereley some performance for the violin sonatas.

Though after listening to the C major sonata, (K.296), D major sonata, (K.306) and the G major sonata, (K.379), I have astonishngly found out that there is much more than just playing the sonatas right. It is actually a shere musical expressiveness which, even one who cannot distinguish between Barenboim and Perlman to some other amateur pianist and violinst will find out that indeed this recording is of great value. A fact that has brought me about to listen to this CD many times.

Barenboim has always been known to be on of the best pianists to accompany in Lieders and violin/cello sonatas. In this recording one can listen to the synergy between Perlamn and Barenboim and with great exploratory uniqueness.

Barenboim plays with exact percision with Perlman, although one should not take this to be shere technicallity but great notice to the solist. He is able to reach to the depths of the Sonata, that although might sound frivolous and simple minded at first, it successfully depicits a great picture and monumental view of the way an accomplice should listen to it.

I have listened to almost every CD of Barenboim play the piano and this is one of the best of them.

And what about Perlman? No one should be astonished, because one who has listened to a few recordings of him playing Mozart, (i.e Mozart Violin Concertos No. 3&5 with Lhevine), will agree with me that there is a perfect sound, and expressivness, which Perlman has in a profoundly perfect way.

What makes this CD even better than other perfomances of the other recordings of the violon Sonatas is that it is a DDD performance, (digitally recorded, with superior qualtiy), and a long time history and coexperience with one another, Perlman with Barenboim.

Enough said, now just listen to it.
I promise you, this is not a regret CD.

This recording of Mozart's violin sonatas is superb. I am a huge fan of Anne-Sophie Mutter and was considering purchasing her set, but the price! This recording featuring two of classical music's brightest stars at a Jackson was enough to convince me.

Let me just say I am absolutely thrilled with this purchase. Every piece is played beautifully. I have listened to all four of the cds and Mozart's soul is in the room with me (thanks to these two men and their musical gifts).

If you want music that is played with heart and soul at a "reasonable price", here it is...your box set has arrived. I will still listen and look for Mutter's recordings, but I will not pay the premium prices being asked at the current time!

This set was everything I could have hoped for in a set of Mozart's violin sonatas...when I put the cd into my player...I am transported to a a place where I "feel" the music. The price for this experience was well worth it!

With this release, Barenboim and Perlman certainly put out one of the finest sets of the complete Mozart violin sonatas available. I have listened to several, and for a complete set this one is my favorite, at least so far.

The performances are highly evocative emotionally, as there certainly is a bit of the Romantic spirit put into these Classical Era works. This is also true of Anne Sophie-Mutter's set with Lambert Orkis set, but I prefer the richer, fuller sound of Barenboim's grand piano to Orkis's fortepiano -- although Orkis plays wonderfully.

Period authenticity can be wonderful, but it isn't always better. These recordings are rich and satisfying -- even if the works themselves are generally not among Mozart's most complex. If you're looking for beautifully performed ear candy, this is it. Recommended.

This is absolutely fantastic! Perlman and Barenboim spent 7 years recording the Mozart sonatas, no wonder it came out with such an eternal quality.

I can not tell you how strongly I agree with the reviews. The music is beautiful and the performances wonderful. I do not know loads about classical music but listening to these pieces was an amazing experience. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did and do.

I have the Mutter / Orcas set which is performed very efficiently but the Perlman / Barenboim set, to my mind, is much more sensitive & subtle. I have the score of these "simple" pieces. Yes, they are mostly easy pieces on the surface but sympathetic performers like Perlman & Barenboim bring out a wealth of expression that is easily missed. You won't regret purchasing this set.

I have had this set a few weeks and have played it almost continuously. According to the notes, Mozart wrote many of these sonatas for non professional musicians..................all I can say is wow!! Those amatures must have have been pretty good...................this is great music, subtle and complex.

Highly recommended.

Great sound and quality! Wonderful to listen to in the evening with a glass of fine wine and peace and quiet! It took me about a week to listen to every song on the 4 CD's. I really enjoyed the informational insert that came with the CD. It included alot of history about not only Motzart, but details about the songs, when he wrote them, and what was going on in his life at that time. For the Motzart buff, you will really like this set. Highly recommended!

This multi CD set is an excellent collection of Mozart's Violin Sonata's. Daniel Barenboim on piano and Itzhak Perlman on Violin is a perfect balance of skill and ability, which helps to deliver a very convincing peformance. Both peformers are able to display great technical ability and precision without making it sound bland or emotionless.

With that said, I would also recommend trying some individual performances of the Mozart violin sonatas by George Szell and Rafael Druian to complement this wonderful set. The Szell and Druian set is in mono and only has four of the sonatas, but they are worth hearing alongside this set as a comparisson. The Szell set focuses primarily on technical ability and precision, while the Barenboim / Perlam set takes it a step further and adds warmth and emotion without sacrificing the technical aspect of the performance.

The K.301 and K.302 are my top two favorites of these sonatas and are played requently alongside the many other CD's in my growing collection.