Mozart: The Piano Quartets

Featuring

Joyce Yang
Zakarias Grafilo
Paul Yarbrough
Sandy Wilson
Alexander String Quartet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Composition History

Despite writing nearly 130 more works in the last five years of his life, Mozart never composed another piano quartet after the two on this album.

Performer Biography

Pianist Joyce Yang won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005, also receiving awards for Best Performance of Chamber Music and a New Work.

Instruments

The instruments of the Ellen M. Egger Quartet, made by Francis Kuttner, are based on original Stradivari models; the violins on a 1705 'P' form and the cello on a modified 1709 'B' form.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mozart's late chamber works, including these piano quartets, are described as crystallizing Enlightenment ideals in music: beauty, clarity, communication, and above all, balance.

Composition History

Mozart's two piano quartets were commissioned by his friend Franz Anton Hoffmeister, who initially contracted for three but cancelled the agreement after the first, K.478, proved too difficult for amateur performers and did not sell well.

Performer Biography

The Alexander String Quartet, which celebrated its 35th Anniversary in 2016, gained international attention as the first American quartet to win the London International String Quartet Competition in 1985.

Instruments

The Alexander String Quartet performs on the Ellen M. Egger Quartet of instruments, which are two violins, a viola, and a cello, all made by Francis Kuttner in 1987.