- Piano Sonatas Nos. 11, 17 and 18
This is pianist Menahem Pressler’s new CD, where we meet a Mozart performed in total serenity, as if freed from all earthly contingencies and tensions, gently singing with a wonderfully tender touch.
This is an interpretation deeply moving in its very simplicity, its sheer tranquil poetry, brimming with love and affection. Here is a miraculous recording by a humble servant of music at the peak of his capabilities.
We get to listen to the following:
Mozart:
- Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331 ‘Alla Turca’
- Piano Sonata No. 17 in B flat major, K570
- Piano Sonata No. 18 in D major, K576 ‘Hunt’
Performed by Menahem Pressler.
Mr. Pressler, founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, has established himself among the world’s most distinguished and honored musicians, with a career that spans almost six decades. Now, at 91 years old, he continues to captivate audiences throughout the world as a performer and teacher, performing solo and chamber music recitals to great critical acclaim while maintaining a dedicated and robust teaching career.
And Mr. Pressler says:
“It’s a genuine mission to fulfill the task of recording the complete Mozart sonatas. A mission that constantly has me asking questions of myself, and which sometimes has me feeling quite dizzy: Can I do it? Am I right to? And yet I feel a literal attraction for these sonatas. They’re an unending source of wonder to me. It’s a joy to record them, and even an inner necessity.”
Here is Menahem Pressler playing Mozart’s music from this new recording:
And Pressler tells us briefly that when you love music, you totally devote yourself to it. You give of yourself…
And next, here he is in Mozart’s Concerto for Piano n°23 – Adagio:
Tags: Menachem Pressler, pianist, Mozart, Sonatas