Program
Mozart - Pianoconcert No. 9 in Es, KV 271
Mozart - Pianoconcert No. 13 in C, KV 415/387b
Mozart - Sonata in G, KV 379
Postscript o.l.v. Artem Belogurov
Artem Belogurov, Stein fortepiano
Rachael Beesley, concertmeester en solist in KV 379
Description
This program is a journey into 18th-century concert life, exemplified by one of its unquestioned luminaries - W. A. Mozart. As was common in that century, Mozart’s own performances varied greatly, depending on the occasion, the audience, and the instrument itself. And each of these aspects themselves varied widely! The occasions varied from his own subscription series to playing organs in various churches of Europe. His audiences ranged from royalty to the theatre-loving rising brougeoisie of Vienna. The instruments that he played franged from his own beloved traveling clavichord through tangentenfluegeln, fortepianos, harpsichords, to the most magnificent church organs. Mozart’s larger concerts, such as the one he gave at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 23 March 1983, were a potpourri of concerti, symphonies, chamber music, solos, and arias and seem to have lasted several hours. Almost invariably there would be improvisations: either as standalone pieces, such as fantasias, fugues, or variations (which, fortunately for us, he would sometimes later write down); or as part of written pieces, in the form of cadenzas and lead-ins (the so-called eingänge). Varying repeats and embellishing slow movements and melodic passages in everything else goes without saying!
It’s this spirit of discovery, variety, daring entertainment (aimed to please both the amateur and the connoisseur), improvisation, and above all expressiveness that moves the listener both emotionally and intellectually, that we are looking to evoke in this program. Our approach is based on historical research and experimentation. Preparation for this kind of project goes far beyond learning the notes, working on ensemble playing, and finding the right tempo. From the choice of seating arrangements, instruments, bows, study of treatises and early recordings that show traces of forgotten traditions going back to the 18th century and earlier, to many hours of experimentation, improvisation, and getting convincing sounding results, this has been an incredibly rewarding way of engaging with this wonderful repertoire.
The basis of this program is a snapshot of an important period in Mozart's career both as a composer and as a keyboard player: 1777–1783. It starts with his visit to Johann Andreas Stein’s workshop in Augsburg in October 1777. The piano Mozart played on in Stein’s workshop was arguably the best instrument he could get his hands on that year. Stein’s ingenious inventions made for expressive and responsive instruments that were famous for their beautiful sound. Mozart was well aware of the technical improvements and wrote at length and in glowing terms about them to his father. Recent developments in the study of Stein’s instruments, as well as those of his students, led to the conclusion that around that time Stein experimented with hollow bare wooden hammers. Historical descriptions of such instruments indeed mention the powerful, harpsichord-like sound that suited perfectly to concerto repertoire and chamber music. Such instruments were equipped with a knee lever for raising the dampers (similar to modern piano’s right pedal) and a manual moderator mechanism - pieces of leather that come between the strings and the hammers and soften the sound significantly.
Vader Leopold hield z'n hart vast: hoe moest het nou met Wolfgang als hij niet meer voor hem kon zorgen en stopte met naar hem luisteren? Maar Mozart was 25, wilde zelfstandig zijn, trouwen en zijn eigen muzikale weg volgen; hij was geen kind meer maar een jonge man. Dus schreef hij zijn laatste pianoconcert in Salzburg, Jeunehomme, en stapte in de diligence naar Wenen.
In augustus 1782 trouwde hij Constanze en hij componeerde; een van de eerste in Wenen geschreven pianoconcerten was KV 415. Verder was het wennen. Hij moest publiek werven voor zijn muziek, en begon daarom met inschrijvingsconcerten: bij voldoende belangstelling vooraf ging het concert door. En hoe meer publiek er in de zaal zat, hoe beter het financieel uitpakte. In grote zalen gebruikte hij dus grotere bezettingen en instrumenten die goed te horen waren.
Mozarts eerste fortepiano kocht hij bij de Weense bouwer Stein. Die bouwde niet alleen instrumenten waarvan de hamertjes met leer bekleed waren (zoals de meeste moderne fortepiano's) maar ook piano's met houten hamers. De dynamische mogelijkheden en het spectrum van klankkleuren daarvan waren veel breder dan we van de huidige historische kopieën gewend zijn. Ze zijn relatief luid en doen soms denken aan een Hongaarse cimbalom.
Mozart heeft zeker beide soorten fortepiano's gekend. Aannemelijk is het dat hij in zalen met veel publiek de voorkeur gaf aan instrumenten met houten hamers. Dat willen we wel eens horen! En daarom klinkt in deze Mozartiade een heel nieuwe, authentieke interpretatie van werken uit deze periode. In combinatie met verschillende instrumentaties bespeelt fortepianist Artem Belogurov een speciale kopie van een instrument van Mozarts pianobouwer Stein. De fortepiano is gebouwd door Gerard Tuinman voor het Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds.
This concert is part of the concert series Musica Antica da Camera in The Hague.
https://www.amare.nl/nl/agenda/1065/Musica_Antica_de_Camera/Mozartiade