Throughout his life, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart repeatedly devoted himself to the genre of the accompanied piano sonata. He wrote the earliest works at the age of eight, to perform them either with his sister on the harpsichord and himself on the violin or with his father, the famous violin teacher, and sitting at the harpsichord himself. Leopold Mozart himself assured his son in a letter that he would count him among the best violin players in Europe - the composer himself preferred to see himself as a piano virtuoso and (of course) above all as a 'compositeur' who had a lot to say. The works recorded here also move within this area of tension. If the violin still plays a clearly subordinate role in the youth sonatas to the brilliant harpsichord part, which also leads in the cantabile slow movements, this distribution of roles changes over the time in favor of the violin. In the 'middle' phase of Mannheim, the renunciation of the violin would mean a painful loss, and in the later Vienna sonatas there is finally a true partnership between the two instruments with equal rights. The joyful virtuoso part is still reserved for the piano.
1 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2 in D Major, K. 7: Allegro Molto
2 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2 in D Major, K. 7: Adagio
3 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 2 in D Major, K. 7: Menuett 1 & 2
4 Prelude and Fugue for Piano in C Major, K. 394 (K. 383A): Präludium
5 Prelude and Fugue for Piano in C Major, K. 394 (K. 383A): Fuga. Andante Maestoso
6 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 17 in C Major, K. 296: Allegro Vivace
7 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 17 in C Major, K. 296: Andante Sostenuto
8 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 17 in C Major, K. 296: Rondeau. Allegro
9 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Adagio
10 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Allegro
11 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Thema. Andantino Cantabile
12 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Variation 1
13 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Variation 2
14 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Variation 3
15 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Variation 4
16 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Variation 5. Adagio
17 Sonata for Violin & Piano No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 (K. 373A): Allegretto (Thema Da Capo)
18 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Thema. Andantino
19 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Variation 1
20 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Variation 2
21 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Variation 3
22 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Variation 4
23 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Variation 5
24 Variations (6) on 'Hélas, J'ai Perdu Mon Amant,' for Violin & Piano in G Major, K. 360 (K. 374B): Variation 6
Throughout his life, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart repeatedly devoted himself to the genre of the accompanied piano sonata. He wrote the earliest works at the age of eight, to perform them either with his sister on the harpsichord and himself on the violin or with his father, the famous violin teacher, and sitting at the harpsichord himself. Leopold Mozart himself assured his son in a letter that he would count him among the best violin players in Europe - the composer himself preferred to see himself as a piano virtuoso and (of course) above all as a 'compositeur' who had a lot to say. The works recorded here also move within this area of tension. If the violin still plays a clearly subordinate role in the youth sonatas to the brilliant harpsichord part, which also leads in the cantabile slow movements, this distribution of roles changes over the time in favor of the violin. In the 'middle' phase of Mannheim, the renunciation of the violin would mean a painful loss, and in the later Vienna sonatas there is finally a true partnership between the two instruments with equal rights. The joyful virtuoso part is still reserved for the piano.