This is the second installment in Orli Shaham's complete Mozart sonatas cycleßand follows her recording of the Mozart Violin Sonatas with brother, violinist Gil Shaham, and her acclaimed release of Mozart Piano Concertos, conducted by David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony. Mozart's singing line and it's translation to the piano has served as Orli Shaham's constant guide in her interpretations of Mozart.ßThe artistic genius in Mozart is that he leaves the performer to capture the mood in the music, and this Orli Shaham does with aplomb, the studio environment for this recording encouraging her to experiment with ornamentation, adding or subtracting trills and grace notes with successive takes. Recording in her favorite recording venue, Mechanics Hall, she fully explores the pathos and cultivates the humor in Mozart's B-flat sonatas. In her own words, "he had such insight into what it means to be human and had to get that out in his music. Mozart was superhuman in what he was able to do... but that never comes across in music that is so human. Mozart's three B-flat sonatas are so varied and different in their inventive brilliance. Each has a truly individual and distinct voice, yet together they stand on a timeline that clearly maps Mozart's development from his late teens to full maturity."
1. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K310 2. I. Allegro maestoso 3. II. Andante cantabile 4. III. Presto 5. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K332 6. I. Allegro 7. II. Adagio 8. III. Allegro assai 9. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 18 in D major, K576 'Hunt' 10. I. Allegro 11. II. Adagio 12. III. Allegretto 13. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K545 'Facile' 14. I. Allegro 15. II. Andante 16. III. Rondo. Allegretto 17. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 4 in E flat major K282 18. I. Adagio 19. II. Menuetto I ; II 20. III. Allegro 21. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 5 in G, K283 22. I. Allegro 23. II. Andante 24. III. Presto 25. ** Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331 'Alla Turca' 26. I. Andante grazioso. Theme and variations 27. II. Menuetto 28. III. Alla turca. Allegretto