Album

Austrian pianists Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda were pioneers in the use of historical instruments in the music of Mozart and Beethoven, undertaking their experiments with little institutional support. There was no market for fortepiano recordings in the 1960s and 1970s. Both were born in the late 1920s and made this recording in 2010, well into their eighties. There is precious little to indicate you are not listening to players half that age, and the entire project has a relaxed, satisfied feel, as if Demus and Badura-Skoda were looking at the rise of historical piano performance and showing the world that they still have a thing or two to contribute. They play works for both one and two pianos. The highlight of the program is probably the opening Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 448, where there is deep coordination between the two masters: the music twists and turns through plenty of slight tempo variations and individual points of expression but seems to breathe as a single organism. One of the other duo works is a genuine Mozart rarity; the Larghetto and Allegro for two pianos in E flat major, K. deest, was apparently left unfinished by Mozart and completed later. That work and the Andante con variazioni in G major for piano four hands, K. 501, seem to hint at mysteries. To round out the program, Demus and Badura-Skoda divide up Mozart's minor-key fantasias and give each of them sharp, percussive readings that capture the dark, improvisatory quality of the music. With fine engineering accomplished at Salzburg's Irnberger Foundation, this is a satisfying Mozart romp with some past masters.

© James Manheim, Rovi

CD 1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Sonata in D for 2 Pianos, K.448 Work 23:43 Jörg Demus Piano (Forte), Paul Badura-Skoda Piano (Forte)
1	1.Allegro con spirito	7:59			$1.49
2	2.Andante	9:09			$1.49
3	3.Allegro molto	6:35			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Andante with Variations in G, for piano 4-hands, K.501 Work Jörg Demus Piano (Forte), Paul Badura-Skoda Piano (Forte)
4	Andante with Variations in G, for piano 4-hands, K.501	8:06			$1.49
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Movement for Violin and Piano in C- (fragment), K.396 Work Jörg Demus Piano (Forte)
5	Movement for Violin and Piano in C- (fragment), K.396	9:04			$1.49
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Fantasia in D-, K.397 (fragment) Work Jörg Demus Piano (Forte)
6	Fantasia in D-, K.397 (fragment)	5:28			$0.99
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Larghetto and Allegro in Eb, for 2 pianos (compl. by Stadler) Work Jörg Demus Piano (Forte), Paul Badura-Skoda Piano (Forte)
7	Larghetto and Allegro in Eb, for 2 pianos (compl. by Stadler)	7:43			$1.49
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Fantasia in C-, K.475 Work Paul Badura-Skoda Piano (Forte)
8	Fantasia in C-, K.475	11:12			$1.99