Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART

Eine kleine Nachtmusik K.525,

Adagio & Fugue K.546, Serenata Notturna K.239,

Menuet & Trio K.485a, Ein musikalischer Spass K.522

 

The English Concert, Andrew Manze

 

Nachtmusik was a term Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sometimes used in preference to Serenade or Notturno. The connotations are the same, of music for evening time, performed out of doors, to loved ones, friends, or patrons, to woo, amuse or flatter. But perhaps the term can embrace a more shadowy side of life, the way Mahler or Bartók used it. Not so long ago, one British politician blighted the career of a colleague by saying that there was ‘something of the night’ about him. This recording explores the night-music of Mozart’s soul.

 

In their first recording together, Andrew Manze and The English Concert explore the range of Mozart’s night-music, from the deceptive innocence of Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the turbulent passion of the Adagio & Fugue in C minor, to the playfulness of Ein musikalischer Spaß. Informed by the latest scholarship, these vibrant performances peel away layers of tradition to reveal fresh surprises in familiar works.

 

A Cambridge Classicist by training, Andrew Manze studied the violin with Simon Standage and Marie Leonhardt. He became Associate Director of The Academy of Ancient Music in 1996 and has just been appointed Artistic Director of The English Concert from July 2003, as Trevor Pinnock's successor. In his newly appointed role at The English Concert, Andrew will move forward into classical repertoire, including Mozart's violin concertos, orchestral works and reorchestrations of Handel's oratorios.

 

Hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD)

Stereo Multichannel

 

Harmonia Mundi Super Audio CD HMU807280