This is the third disc
in Christopher Hogwood’s ‘Secret’ series, following releases
focused on Bach and Handel. There hardly seems to be a recording
by Hogwood that does not set out to challenge our perceptions
of the music he conducts or plays, and this release will
certainly challenge. I suppose it’s feasible to make the
point that the extent of the challenge it makes will depend
on how fixed each listener’s individual views are regarding “how
Mozart should sound”.
Hogwood’s
own lucid introductions to both the series and this disc
state that the aim is to present a “private view” of the
composers’ keyboard music “in their home setting”. He continues
by usefully quoting Constanze Mozart in regard to Wolfgang’s
use of the clavichord for composition, in preference to a
fortepiano, additionally stating that “the only instrument
that was with him at the start and end of his life was the
clavichord.” Yes, Mozart used a forte-piano in public, but
in his private music-making the clavichord was his instrument
of choice. If you’ve heard period instrument recordings of
Mozart sonatas before, then they were approximations at what
his public might have heard, and different still from what
you’ll hear on this disc. The notes conclude with useful
remarks on both the works that form this programme and points
of stylistic interest they raise, together with notes on
the instruments used for this recording.
Listening
to this disc straight through, the first really noticeable
thing is the difference in sound that the three instruments
make. The Hass clavichord is recorded slightly distantly,
but you can still hear much of the internal mechanism at
work. Not that this is unduly distracting, it is part of
the experience in listening to such an instrument. The sound
produced is subtle in terms of its colourings and discrete
rather than being too imposing. That said, at forte a full
sound is produced. Mozart’s clavichord is more forward and
taut in its tone – to the point of almost sounding like a
guitar at times. There is no doubt that this is still a domestic
instrument, given the volume of sound it produces. The Schiedmayer
clavichord is the brightest in terms of tone out of the three
instruments, the one most capable of sustaining a body of
sound at a consistently reasonable volume, and the one most
similar to a harpsichord - to my ears at least.
For
anyone used to Mozart on a modern grand piano some adjustment
will be needed before one feels fully at home with this disc.
For me though, Hogwood proves a most sensitive advocate in
helping one to adjust ones ears to accept Mozart at his most
intimate. That the disc is filled mostly with miniatures
is an undoubted benefit, as their brevity somehow works hand
in hand with the instruments’ intimacy of scale. There are
moments when perhaps Hogwood’s playing does not seem ideally
fluent – the Marche funèbre, K. 453a played on Mozart’s clavichord,
for me, is one – but one can feel in Hogwood’s playing Mozart
striving for a musical result that was stretching his instrument
to its limits. For the most part though, the music is well
chosen to show the instruments in a positive light. Having
admired last year Misha and Cipa Dichter’s reading of the
Sonata for two pianos in D, K. 381 (see review),
I find the reading Hogwood gives with David Adlam highly
exciting. They bring real brio to the opening Allegro. The
middle Andante bounces along playfully and the closing Allegro
molto has real punch, but contains tenderness and plentiful
tonal variation too.
A
disc that offers a refreshing view of Mozart. Enthusiastically
recommended.
Evan Dickerson
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Christopher Hogwood with *Derek
Adlam (clavichord) 
