Mozart’s Violin Sonatas
or the ‘Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin’,
as the composer described them, are
currently being given plenty of exposure
on record. For this new release
Hahn and Zhu join an impressive list
of partnerships to have recorded these
sonatas over the years. The delineation
between Mozart’s early, middle and late
sonatas shows what an incredible variation
and wealth of material they include.
A short amount of research in the catalogues
revealed a plethora of accessible recordings.
One wonders why these attractive and
rewarding sonatas are not heard far
more often.
My particular reference
book credits Mozart with composing forty-three
‘Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin’ and
these undoubtedly witness the development
of the modern violin sonata. Mozart,
it is said, was responsible for bringing
the dramatic violin sonata to near perfection
in perhaps the same way that Haydn developed
the form of the string quartet.
Set in only two movements
the Sonata for Piano and Violin in
G major, KV 301 was composed in
Mannheim in 1778 and published as one
of a volume of six Sonatas. Here we
see Mozart breaking away from the style
of the baroque Sonata by favouring melody
over counterpoint. Furthermore, the
composer ceases to treat the violin
as mere accompaniment to the dominant
piano by allowing it to assume a more
equal role. The opening allegro con
spirito can be vivacious but in
the hands of Hahn and Zhu the result
is a rather cool affair. The proceedings
do not improve much in the happy closing
movement rondo where the players
seem to be putting on a brave face.
The two movement Sonata
for Piano and Violin in E minor,
KV 304 was composed in Paris in 1778
the year of his mother’s death. Not
surprisingly the score exhibits traces
of his sorrow and melancholy and was
the only sonata Mozart wrote
in a minor key. The opening allegro
is given only a modicum of enthusiasm
by Hahn and Zhu. However, the passionate
writing in the closing movement is interpreted
with a degree of success.
Composed in Vienna
in 1781 the score to the Sonata for
Piano and Violin in F major, KV
376 more than ever before places the
two instruments in parity. The three
movement F major Sonata opens
with an allegro here breezily
performed by the players. In the central
movement andante we are given
a suitably restrained interpretation
with well blended teamwork. The partnership
are uninspiring in the elegant finale-allegro.
The Sonata for Piano
and Violin in A major, KV 526 was
composed in 1787 in Vienna between his
masterworks Eine kleine Nachtmusik
and the opera Don Giovanni.
At this time Mozart was at the peak
of his compositional powers and
like those two famous works, the three
movement A major score exhibits
a wealth of melodies and is regarded
by many as Mozart’s greatest work in
the genre. In the hands of Hahn
the opening movement is performed with
a seeming lack of affection and the
lovely extended andante rather
outstays its welcome in this unsympathetic
account. Sadly the proceedings from
Hahn and Zhu in the final movement come
across as rather workaday.
For those wanting a
broad selection of Mozart’s violin sonatas
performed on modern instruments I would
confidently recommend the distinguished
partnership of Itzhak
Perlman and Daniel
Barenboim in the violin sonatas 17-28,
32-34 and sonatina K547 in a four disc
set from Deutsche Grammophon 463 749-2.
With the same selection as Perlman and
Barenboim I also enjoy the four disc
set from Szymon Goldberg and Radu Lupu
on Decca 448 526-2. My particular favourite
is an exciting single disc from Rachel
Podger and Gary Cooper using period
instruments in the first volume of their
projected complete survey. The disc
contains the Sonatas 1, 26, 27 and 43
and is on Channel Classics CCS SA 21804.
Overall I was disappointed
with Hahn’s playing, who in spite of
her impeccable credentials never connects
with the spirit of the music. No galloping
rhythms here, no sparkle or joy and
there’s a reluctance to vary dynamic
and vibrato. I found the whole experience
tiresome and drab and this is exacerbated
by the rather harsh tone from Hahn’s
violin. I shall not be returning to
this disc especially when there are
such wonderful alternative interpretations
around.
Michael Cookson
Hilary Hahn, violin; Natalie Zhu, piano 
