Mozart & Contemporaries (Ltd. Signed Crystal Clear 2Lp)

*SHOP EXCLUSIVE*

Crystal Clear 2LP + signed insert

Víkingur Ólafsson explores the light and shade in the music of Mozart on his latest album, released by Deutsche Grammophon on 3 September 2021. Mozart & Contemporaries sees the artist juxtapose some of his favourite Mozartian pieces with works by other leading composers of the day – Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Galuppi and Cimarosa. By focusing on the last ten years of Mozart’s life, Ólafsson dispels the image of the composer as the angelic and prodigious idiot savant. “I find this decade of Mozart’s life and art endlessly fascinating,” says the pianist. “This is the period when he was not just perfecting the Classical tradition but subtly subverting it … the shadows are darker, the nuances and ambiguities more profound.” Ólafsson, who has won Opus Klassik and BBC Music Magazine awards as well as being named Gramophone’s Artist of the Year 2019, has achieved worldwide acclaim with his recordings. Mozart &  Contemporaries is his fourth DG album.

2 LPs pressed on 180g heavyweight crystal clear vinyl, housed in gatefold sleeve, with a signed insert and an essay by the artist.

Tracklist:

Side A (24min):

01 Galuppi: Andante spiritoso from Piano Sonata No. 9 in F minor

02 Mozart: Rondo in F major, K 494

03 C.P.E. Bach: Rondo II in D minor, H 290

04 Cimarosa: Sonata No. 42 in D minor (Arr. by Víkingur Ólafsson)

05 Mozart: Fantasia in D minor, K 397 (Fragment)

06 Mozart: Rondo in D major, K 485

Side B (20min):

01 Cimarosa: Sonata No. 55 in A minor (Arr. by Víkingur Ólafsson)

02 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K 545 “Sonata facile”: I. Allegro

03 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K 545 “Sonata facile”: II. Andante

04 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K 545 “Sonata facile”: III. Rondo. Allegretto

05 Mozart: Adagio in E flat, arr. by Víkingur Ólafsson from String Quintet No. 3 in G minor, K 516 

Side C (20min):

01 Galuppi: Larghetto from Piano Sonata No. 34 in C minor

02 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K 457: I. Molto allegro

03 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K 457: II. Adagio

04 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K 457: III. Allegro assai

Side D (21min):

01 Mozart: Kleine Gigue in G, K 574

02 Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 47 in B minor: I. Allegro moderato

03 Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 47 in B minor: II. Menuet

04 Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 47 in B minor: III. Finale - Presto

05 Mozart: Adagio in B minor, K 540

06 Mozart: Ave verum corpus, K 618 (Transcr. for solo piano by Franz Liszt)