La Petite Bande & Sigiswald Kuijken
Release Date: 07 April 2017
Label: Challenge Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 608917275223
Description
This recording from the Kuijken family, renowned world-wide as early music specialists, presents Mozart's Piano Concertos K. 413, 414 & 415 in the composer's versions for fortepiano and string quartet. It's a new, exciting instalment in the rich discography of one of the greatest Aufführungspraxis scholars.
Sigiswald Kuijken founded La Petite Bande - which he leads from first violin here - in 1972. The fortepiano soloists are his daughters Marie Kuijken (Piano Concerto No. 11, K.413) and Veronica Kuijken (Piano Concertos Nos. 12, K.414 and 13, K.415).
From notes by Sigiswald Kuijken: "Mozart conceived the three piano concertos K. 414, 413 and 415 in 1782, one year after he had settled in Vienna as a more or less free-lance musician. From onset, his idea was to get these works published. In order to enhance the attraction for publication, he decided to write these concertos in such a way that they could be performed not only with full orchestra (i.e. strings and winds), but also with a reduced accompaniment of only string quartet. Clearly, Mozart did not consider this strategic starting point as an artistic limitation, but rather as a challenge. This resulted in a very careful and beautiful string writing, matching the solo part in the most effective and intimate way.
"Although Mozart always mentions the "normal" composition of the string quartet (two violins, viola and violoncello), I took the liberty to replace the violoncello by a double bass in our performances and our recording of these concertos. My reason was purely musical. Looking and listening to these works, we find a clear difference concerning their string-bass writing compared with Mozart's own quartets for violin, viola, violoncello and piano, or also his trios for violin, violoncello and piano. In these piano concertos the string bass is only playing the essential bass-line of the whole texture, thus very often doubling in simplified way the soloist's left hand."
Personnel: La Petite Bande - Elise Christiaens (double bass), Marleen Thiers (viola), Sigiswald Kuijken, Sara Kuijken (violin)
Tracklisting
Narratio Quartet
Piano Duo Scholtes & Janssens
Matteo Cicchitti, Musica Elegentia
Cappella Pratensis, Stratton Bull, Sollazzo Ensemble
La Sfera Armoniosa, Oscar Verhaar, Mike Fentross
Simona Marchesi, Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi
Ben Kim, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Jan Willem de Vriend
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken
La Petite Bande; Sigiswald Kuijken
