Mozart: Phantasia

Anneke Veenhoff, fortepiano; Nicole van Bruggen, basset clarinet & clarinet; Jane Rogers, viola

Composed by: W. A. Mozart
Phantasia (Partly World-Premiere Recording)

It may seem surprising that after three decades of 'early music' research, critical discoveries can still be made about a great composer such as Mozart and particularly discoveries around his well-known masterpieces. This recording presents the première recording of the Grande Sonate, an anonymous arrangement for fortepiano and basset clarinet of Mozart's beloved Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581. Both the Clarinet Quintet and the Concerto in A major, K.622, were originally written for an instrument called the basset clarinet, which has four more chromatic notes at the bottom of its range than an ordinary clarinet. Since the manuscripts to both pieces were lost, clarinettists have had to make educated guesses about the passages that may have included these low notes.
Significantly, this arrangement includes some of these basset notes, making it an important source for those wishing to restore the piece to its original form. In its incarnation as a sonata, it becomes a wonderful piece of chamber music which is especially compelling when played on instruments like those Mozart and Stadler (for whom it was composed) knew.

Price: $27.98

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