Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 18 in D major, K576 'Hunt' - download (MP3 & FLAC)

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.

There is something special about the works of Mozart’s last years. Purified of all excesses, these subtle, delicate works, full of nostalgia, seem to belong to an otherworldly realm. After a period of unprecedented formal development in the mid 1780s, Mozart unexpectedly adopted a leaner, more conservative direction in his compositional style towards the end of the decade, willfully avoiding the dramatic flair and grandeur that characterized the compositions of the preceding years. In fact the very restraint of these late works is what seems to give them their almost heart-breaking poignancy.

With this CD, Ludwig Sémerjian continues his project of recording the complete Mozart sonatas on period instruments. Here he plays on an 1804 pianoforte made by Nannette Streicher, née Stein. Its pure, light timbre perfectly matches the subtle and refined mood of Mozart's last works for piano.

Recorded in 1956

One gets a fair semblance of Arrau's artistry through a remarkable cache of recordings made for German Radio in 1937 and 1938. They are released here for the first time, with the exception of the Liszt E Flat concerto, which appeared on a long unavailable Russian Melodya LP and two rare commercially issued Parlophone 78s, added as encores. While Arrau made several important recordings prior to his emigration from Germany, his pre-war discography is small in comparison to his prolific output from the mid-forties on, when the pianist's international reputation solidified. The present compilation, therefore, adds significantly to what we know of Arrau's prime years.