Mozart: Fantasia in D minor, K397 - download (MP3 & FLAC)

Konstanze Eickhorst’s sensitive and energetic performances of these works in a minor key, allow the sun to shine through these melancholy compositions.

This disc takes listeners on a journey through profound depths of feeling.

Paul Badura-Skoda is one of the most important pianists of our time. On this CD, he performs with Jörg Demus. Many of his recordings have won international awards. The works are performed on period instruments.

”Evidence of fingers exceptionally vigorous, nimble and purposeful." BBC Music Magazine

“He plays with a light, sparkling touch and singing melodies, with tasteful and unexaggerated expression." Fanfare

For more than ten years Gottlieb Wallisch has captivated audiences from many of the world’s major concert platforms with his playing. Wallisch’s debut on Linn Records, ‘Mozart in Vienna’, features a selection of Mozart’s best-loved works, all composed in Vienna during one of the composer’s most fruitful periods: 1781-1791.

Wallisch expertly demonstrates Mozart’s quintessential style: his skill at improvisation (Fantasie KV 397), his humour (Variationen KV 455) and his more intimate, melancholic side (Rondo KV 511).

Two of Mozart’s finest sonatas are also included and they allow Gottlieb to display his deep understanding of the music of his fellow Austrian, as well as his impressive technical and interpretative skills.

The Viennese pianist has performed this repertoire internationally to great acclaim: “Wallisch proved himself to be an exceptional performer of Mozart” (Neue Ruhr Zeitung).

Recorded in St George’s, Bristol, which is regarded as one of the best chamber venues in Britain, Gottlieb gives a stylish and individual performance of some of Mozart’s finest piano works.

Born into a family of Viennese musicians, Gottlieb Wallisch is a competition prizewinner and a respected artist in the Viennese piano tradition.

Gottlieb Wallisch has performed with many leading orchestras including Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He has performed at prestigious London venues Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Gottlieb participated in the international cycle "Rising Stars" and gave solo recitals in many European capitals as well as New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Linda Nicholson is one of the foremost keyboard players specialising in the performance of baroque, classical and early romantic music on instruments of the period. On this recording she plays a fortepiano by Anton Walter, built in Vienna, circa 1797.

Three pianos, two from Vienna and one from London, bring to life the original sounds which these, the greatest Classical composers, would have known and expected to hear. Mozart is played on a Hofmann from 1790, Haydn on a Broadwood of 1801 and Beethoven on a Böhm from 1820. All three instruments are held in important museum collections and are played by Martin Souter.

Alexander Paley, who was born in Moldavia in 1956, brings to these varied works a calm and even-tempered approach. Although there are certainly virtuoso episodes, Paley does not use this opportunity to show off. These are inner-directed and contemplative performances. The centerpiece of this recital is Brahms' Paganini Variations Op. 35. Based upon the famous A Minor Caprice, Brahms' kaleidoscopic explorations are revealed with intimacy and emotion in Paley's interpretation. An added bonus is the extremely popular encore piece, David and Goliath by Hans Christian Bartel. This recording is valuable and enjoyable and is recommended warmly.