Mozart: Sonatas for Piano Four Hands, K. 521 & 497

Featuring

Ferenc Rados
Kirill Gerstein
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Performer Biography

Kirill Gerstein considers Ferenc Rados the single most influential person in his musical life and the one with whom he has studied the longest.

Interpretation

For Ferenc Rados, interpretation is based on foundational elements of musical substance, such as structural and metric stresses, harmonic relationships, and motivic declamations, rather than stylistic fashions.

Compositional Technique

Mozart revolutionized the piano duet genre, particularly with the F major Sonata on this recording, by giving each player a substantial and characteristic role, similar to his wind ensembles.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in Jesus-Christus-Kirche Berlin-Dahlem between June 7-9, 2018, using Sonodore microphones and a Steinway & Sons D274 piano.

Compositional Technique

Ferenc Rados believes that 17th and 18th-century music is more 'neurotic' and 'nervous' than Romantic music, characterized by shorter, more declamatory phrases or conjoined smaller elements.

Interpretation

Kirill Gerstein's experiences with jazz and improvisation played a role in the spontaneously added ornaments in the C major Sonata, which Ferenc Rados found amenable and amusing.

Performer Biography

Ferenc Rados, born in Budapest in 1934, is a singular personality and mentor for chamber musicians and pianists, having taught prominent Hungarian musicians at the Liszt Academy.