COMPOSERS: Scarlatti/Mozart
LABELS: Boston Skyline
WORKS: Sonatas, K44, K125, K134, K140, K242 & K247; Piano Sonata in B flat, K333; Piano Sonata in A, K331
PERFORMER: Charles Rosen, Kathryn Dèguire (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: BSD 131 AAD(1955/56)
The incredible story of the ‘Siena Pianoforte’, an instrument dating from 1800 which was played and admired by Liszt, is too long and intricate to relate here, except to mention that it involved Napoleon, Victor Emanuele III of Italy and Tel-Aviv city dump! The recording features exquisitely tasteful performances, mostly by Charles Rosen, which demonstrate the often crystalline beauty of this remarkable instrument – perhaps not quite as exciting as its history, but alluring all the same. There is a persistent, but ignorable hiss, presumably due to the equally bizarre history of the master tapes. Christopher Dingle
Scarlatti/Mozart
The incredible story of the ‘Siena Pianoforte’, an instrument dating from 1800 which was played and admired by Liszt, is too long and intricate to relate here, except to mention that it involved Napoleon, Victor Emanuele III of Italy and Tel-Aviv city dump! The recording features exquisitely tasteful performances, mostly by Charles Rosen, which demonstrate the often crystalline beauty of this remarkable instrument – perhaps not quite as exciting as its history, but alluring all the same.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:16 pm