Mozart: Violin Sonata No. 33 in E flat major K481

“The refreshingly different 'period' string / keyboard balance makes this CD collectable, and if the sometimes gauche early works are unglamorised, these forceful players steer an ideal course between gravity and joyousness in the virtuosic final sonata.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2009 ****

“Remarkably the Mozart (in E flat) and Brahms (no. 2) feature Grumiaux playing both parts, with the violin over-dubbed - although you'd hardly guess apart from the exaggerated stereo separation.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2007 ****

“fresh, invigorating period-instrument performances which value crisp articulation and emphatic phrasing over modern notions of tonal beauty...Arguably, this comes closer to what Mozart may have heard in his head when composing than most modern interpretations, and can be more powerfully effective...It is well worth bearing with Duo Amadè, as its individualistic, historically informed approach can be extremely illuminating” Graham Rogers, bbc.co.uk, 9th January 2012

“Catherine Mackintosh is the soul of discretion, imparting an intimate, chamber music quality to music that is often performed as if for the wide-open spaces of a modern concert-hall.” Classic FM Magazine, September 2011 ****

“Govier and Mackintosh play into the music, the certainty of Mozart's dynamic markins appearing to offer scope for persuasive freedom. Extremes abound. You take them or leave them.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

"The interaction between Rachel Podger and the gifted fortepianist Gary Cooper is no less than extraordinary. They succeed in cracking a formidable code that leads the listener to understand the musical connection between single phrases and larger sections within the sonata form Mozart perfected. (…) (…) Podger and Cooper’s masterly first endeavour captures the heart and the mind of the master." The Strad

“The outstanding work on this second instalment is the big E flat Sonata K481. Cooper and Podger provide a broad performance of its wonderful slow movement that really plumbs its depths, applying ornamentation in a way that Mozart might well have done himself. Cooper and Podger are superb in the G major K301, with an account of the minor-mode siciliano-like episode in its finale that's both expressive and irresistibly lilting.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2005 ****

“Gary Cooper and Rachel Podger's projected set of the Mozart duo sonatas (of which this is the second volume) will be more complete than most, including the works he wrote for keyboard with accompanying violin between the ages of seven and 10. Of course these can't be compared to the later sonatas but they're certainly not without interest; and on the present disc the progress between No 2 and No 15 is striking – the latter's Adagio shows an enormous increase in expressive range (further extended by Gary Cooper's extravagant decoration of the repeats) with the violin complementing the melody most effectively. The decision to use the same fortepiano for all the sonatas may not be the most accurate historical way of presenting them but, as Cooper points out, it does help the listener to hear them as belonging to a single line of development.
Both artists show an impressive command of the rhetorical 18th-century approach to phrasing and expression, giving a very lively air to the music-making – there are no flat, routine moments. The theatrical manner of No 18's first movement inspires a wonderfully bright, colourful performance, and the contrasts inherent in the two-speed opening movement of No 20 are brilliantly realised.
Some may find the continually active style of playing a step too far, and there were places, in the first movement of No 33, for example, where a calmer, less eventful approach might have been welcome. But the great Adagio of this sonata has a beautiful sense of line and, throughout, the marriage of expertise and stylistic awareness results in truly treasurable performances.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Both artists show an impressive command of the rhetorical 18th-century approach to phrasing and expression, giving a very likely air to the music-making - there are no flat, routine moments.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2006