Mozart Bicentennial Program

CD Details

Product Description

The program takes the listener across a very wide spectrum of Mozart’s genius for sound and for instrumental variety. It opens with his next to last string quintet in the rarely used (by him) key of G minor. It is followed by the seldom-performed Masonic Funeral Music in C minor, written to memorialize two esteemed brothers of his lodge. The last piece is the first recorded instance of the renowned Robert Levin performing a Mozart Concerto on the modern grand piano, in the Concerto No. 17 in G major.
This live recording was made during the New York Philomusica’s performance of its Mozart Bicentennial Program on December 3, 1991. The performance used a copy of the autograph manuscript and incorporated many facets of authentic 18th century practice, such as the arrangement of instruments on the stage and the improvisations of the pianist.
Robert Levin, a distinguished fortepianist, “plays a modern piano in a fleet, full-dynamics, long-lined account of superb coherence and spirit. Neither spirit nor coherence is the surprise, but the modernity of the whole event, saying a good deal of Levin’s active but always pointed improvised embellishments…” says John Wiser of Fanfare Magazine.
Indeed, words cannot describe the joy of knowing the genius of Mozart through the music he composed during his busy, profound, and short visit through mortality. Between the brilliant interpretation and improvisation of Robert Levin and the inspired musicianship of the New York Philomusica ensemble, this recording is one not to miss.

Review

“…[performances are] assured, with that added heating of impulse which betokens long thought and experience” — John Wiser in the February 1993 issue of Fanfare

“…assured, with that added heating of impulse which betokens long thought and experience” (Quintet); “well organized and distinctly feeling” — John Wiser in the February 1993 issue of Fanfare

“..[Levin is] wonderful. [He] improvises the continuo, cadenzas, and embellishments on a Steinway grand. Recorded live in first-rate sound.” — Bernard D. Sherman in the Fall, 1997 Schwann

“Neither spirit nor coherence is the surprise, but the modernity of the whole event.” — John Wiser in the February 1993 issue of Fanfare

“Of the many CDs arising from a festival year, …the NY Philomusica’s stands among the most attractive. Strongly recommended.” — Fanfare Magazine

“To accomplish something like this [Levin] must have feet planted very firmly in two musical worlds…a remarkable feat….” — John Wiser in the February 1993 issue of Fanfare

(Masonic Funeral Music); “Levin…offers a considerable surprise…fleet, full- dynamics, long-lined account of superb coherence and spirit. — John Wiser in the February 1993 issue of Fanfare

From the Artist

A. Robert Johnson is the Producer and Artistic Director for the New York Philomusica Records catalogue. He offers this rationale for its distinction: “It provides the listener with a continuum of carefully honed programming which is intended to enhance one’s capacity for intimate knowledge and enjoyment of great classical music through the juxtaposition of the selections. The perspective begins on each CD and ultimately informs the entire catalogue. The inspiration for this is drawn from the New York Philomusica subscription concerts presented annually in New York. Music selected encompasses the period beginning in the early18th Century to the present; the performances include studio-produced recordings as well as live concerts.”

About the Artist

New York Philomusica was formed in 1971 by its members who were drawn together by appreciation for each other’s musicianship and common interest in the uncommon repertory for diverse instrumentations of the early 18th century to the present. Its programs encompass combinations varying from sonata, trio or quartet to concerto and classical symphony. They have performed and recorded on three continents in programs formed in the subscription concerts, which are the basis for nearly all their other activities. The New York Times’ critic Bernard Holland in 1993 selected this ensemble’s performance on December 3rd of that year as his “highlight of the year” in chamber music. The program began with Aaron Copland’s Sextet (1933) followed by Shostakovich’s Quintet Op. 57 and Dvorak’s Quartet for Strings in F Major, “The American.” This is his description of the concert: “One of the city’s life-sustaining, if half-hidden, cultural arteries is its chamber music: bands of young professionals who play for pleasure and edification, though rarely for profit. Some events are earnestly competent, some misguided or self-indulgent, but there are also moments like the New York Philomusica’s evening on Thursday, when programs are elegantly conceived and played with radiant devotion…One can hardly imagine a more apt performance: beautifully poised and wholly in the spirit of the material. Originally “The Short Shymphony,” the Copland is more mana