W. A. Mozart - Sonata for 2 Pianos in D major K. 448 (375a) - Levin & Frager [Period Instruments]

I. Allegro con spirito 0:00
II. Andante 11:37
III. Molto Allegro 21:41
Robert Levin - Mozarts Hammerklavier, Anton Walter, Wien um 1782 (Anton Walter, Vienna, ca. 1780, Mozart's own concert grand)
Malcolm Frager - Garser Flügel, Anton Walter, Wien um 1790 (Anton Walter, Vienna, ca. 1790)
Recorded live in the Rittersaal of the Prince Archbishop's former Residence in Salzburg during the 1990 Mozart Week
CD:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Works for Two Claviers / Werke für zwei Klaviere 1990
Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg ISM 90/1

[@martinlewis1583]

This is an excellent performance! Clear and precise, but with such subtlety and variety of expression. What I particularly love is they have placed the pianos far enough apart that one can distinguish between them. The modern convention is to place two grand pianos dovetailed together which, though visually very pretty, means that the sound is completely unidirectional: and so those wonderful passages in the first movement (for instance) where the cascading runs race across each other in opposing motion, just come over as musical mud.

[@musicshin2]

very crispy performance,,,wonderful intereption😊

[@JohnLelandWhiting]

By far the best performance I've heard! Unlike so many "authentic" performances, it sounds like music, not a scholarly dissertation.

[@ProdigyImprovisation]

That’s because it’s not just any period instrument, but one of them is Mozart’s very own! It says in the description the one Levin plays.

[@josephking92]

I need more of this in my life. That is all.

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

Finally a performance of this marvelous work that has some meat on its bones and uses sensible tempos! Every other recorded performance I've heard--on modern pianos--treats the music as if it were a lace doily made out of cotton candy. This recording is almost impossible to find on CD, so thank you VERY much for posting!

[@musicshin2]

Yes, I found it recently

[@1y167]

Balance and texture : this is Music, not like so many versions(either on period or modern instruments). Many thanks for sharing !

[@davidbryant3223]

Levin is superb!!! Thank you for posting this.

[@lennycavallaro5062]

This is a wonderful performance, and probably closer to the composer's original intent than any yet known to me. The clarity of line is absolutely magnificent!

[@KonstantinPokrovsky]

check also Wim Winters' channel AuthenticSound

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

@@KonstantinPokrovsky Between Levin (who has researched Mozart's work enough to have his own completion of the Requiem) and whatever Winters says on the Classical-era repertoire, easily Levin. The demisemiquaver / 32nd note runs at measure 24 in the K 576 Adagio simply do not work at Wim's tempo on the clavichord

[@sergioscoccini3704]

PokrovskyKonstant

[@shadowjuan2]

The performance is on point, Ingrid Haebler also did a very fine recording on the modern piano. I have to say though that the fortepiano gives a more vibrant sound to Mozart’s music. Modern pianos don’t have that tingly, brilliant feel fortepianos have.

[@maximilian.maksutovic]

I've always loved this sonata, but it's so much better on fortepiano, and I love that stop effect as described by @scuffedbach, thank you for sharing this!

[@ulrichdannenbaum4472]

this is even better than the recording with Lubimov and Martinov ... they play the piece throughout to fast ! Levin and Frager simply select more fitting tempos ...

[@GSHAPIROY]

24:13 I might point out the following little tidbit:
Robert Levin, even when playing Mozart on a modern grand piano, when improvising, never exceeds the range of Mozart's keyboard (i. e. the top F3). However, here, in his Eingang, he goes up to a high G3. Why? Because Mozart wrote this sonata for someone who owned a piano that went up to G3. Surprisingly, Mozart only took advantage of this once in the finale, where there is an F#3 in bar 98.

[@koi5242]

my study song

[@RitaPas]

Do you know which player and instrument perform the Primo and Secondo parts?

[@jean-jacquesfabretti4459]

Bonjour, une question pour spécialiste. Ces pianoforte d'époque sont accordés sur quel diapason : l'actuel 440 Hz, le naturel 432 ou le La Mozart 422 ? Merci Hello, a question for a specialist. These period fortepianos are tuned to what pitch: the current 440 Hz, the natural 432 or the A Mozart 422? Thanks

[@matteomagurno3068]

A semitone lower than natural d 440hz

[@Shine-kg9vk]

0:43 why does it sound so harsh? 😂

[@espressonoob]

it's a stop on the piano (similar to a pedal) that would be pushed with the knee (or could have been a pedal, who knows!) that plays a "bassoon-y" sound. old fortepiano builders sometimes implemented them, and it was obviously depreciated as the instruments got more complex.