Barenboim Plays Mozart Piano Sonatas

An invaluable collection of idiomatic performances coupled with good recording
This 3 disc set is a comprehensive collection of the 18 piano sonatas written by Mozart plus the Fantasia in C. The sonatas were written in four groups with the first six being written in 1775 when Mozart was 19. These are conveniently collected together on the first disc. The second disc contains the second group of three written between 117-1778 and the set of four written in 1783. The last six and the Fantasia were written individually during the last years of Mozart's life and are collected together on the third disc.

Barenboim makes an excellent guide through this repertoire bringing crisply enunciated finger-work and avoiding Romantic period overtones. He has a lighter touch than we hear from him these days and this is to the music's advantage. Barenboim had completed a well-regarded set of audio recordings of the complete concertos prior to these later sessions which were held in two venues between 1988 and 1990. These sonata recordings share the characteristics he...

Attention, Mozart Lovers!
This DVD set is a real treat. It is great to have all of Mozart's piano sonatas in one place. Barenboim, of course, has been a major artist as both pianist and conductor for decades, and is admirably qualified to give a very fine rendition of these sonatas. He is well known for performing several cycles of the Beethoven sonatas throughout his career, as well as the Mozart piano concertos, so he clearly has more than adequate technique for the Mozart sonatas. The venues are the Max-Joseph-Saal in Munich and Schloss Heimhausen, both providing fittingly elegant and beautiful backdrops for the music. As the recordings were made in 1989 and 1990, they are not up to modern digital standards of video quality, but the picture is clear and unobtrusive, with the sound also being of high quality. Camera work is very polished, giving good views of his hands and facial expressions, without ever imposing itself on the occasion. There is no audience, so there is no coughing to disrupt the...



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