WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

 

Violin sonatas (1781)

 

Op.2, K.380, K.377, K.376, K.403 fragment completed by Stadler

 

Andrew Manze (violin)

Richard Egarr (fortepiano Johann Zahler, Brünn, c.1800)

 

Composed after he settled in Vienna, Mozart's 'Auernhammer' sonatas, K. 376, 377 and 380, are the first fruits of his freedom from Salzburg serfdom and a sign of his new, revolutionary spirit.

 

Multiple award-winners Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr capture the sense of orchestral colour and concerto-style interplay that runs through these works. A rarely-heard fragment, K.403, is included as a delightful bonus.

 

"Heavy like a peasant wench, sweats to make you sick", was Mozart's ungallant description of his star keyboard pupil Josepha Auernhammer. Which did not prevent him dedicating a group of six sonatas to Josepha in 1781, including the three complete works recorded here. Those used to modern instruments in this music might initially be fazed by the more percussive, abrasive sound world of Manze and Egarr. But there are rich compensations in their close interplay and inventive moment-by-moment characterisation.

"Almost Beethovenian", writes Manze in the booklet of the driving opening allegro of K377. True to his word, he and Egarr give a performance of startling tigerish vehemence. But Manze can draw the purest of lyrical lines; and the beautiful minuet finale of the same sonata is as tenderly phrased as you will hear. Elsewhere, Manze and Egarr relish the brilliance and élan of K380's outer movements, and give a delicately poetic reading of its minor-keyed andante. If you want these sonatas played on the kind of instruments Mozart would have expected, these bold, vivid performances should fit the bill admirably.

Richard Wigmore, Telegraph

 

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