WCO Recordings
Mozart: The Early Concerti
Now available for $22.99 through the WCO office at (608) 257-0638
From the review in the Madison Capitol Times, March 12, 2008:
Thee Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra , conducted by its musical director Andrew Sewell, has just released its third CD, which is its first recording to have a national and international distributor, the New York-based company VAI Records. The two-CD set features three early Mozart piano concertos - Nos. 6, 8 and 9 ("Jeunehomme"), called the "Salzburg Concertos" and composed in 1776, done with prize-winning soloist Adam Neiman - and the Symphony No. 38 "Prague" (1787). The recording was made in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, the WCO's home venue, and was engineered by Madison-based Audio for the Arts. ....
... this is the third CD that Sewell has made with the WCO since he took over the reins of the drifting and homeless chamber ensemble, best known for Concerts on the Square, in 2000.
It is also easily the best and most ambitious of the three recordings. (Selling for $22.99, it is available at local record and book stores, and through the WCO at 608-257-0638 or www.wcoconcerts.org.) The project is based on a concert given last season. I attended the concert, and while the concert was good, it seemed a little disjointed because concertmaster Suzanne Beia was taken seriously ill at the last minute. But the CD, on which Beia performed at full strength, is great.
"This is big news and a huge step for us," said Sewell, who explained that everything from the edgy and urbane cover photo (with headless pianist and conductor) to the program of early Mozart concertos was intended to take the WCO to the next level. He noted that VAI Records has outlets in 25 countries and that its releases are available from most major retailers.
"We want people in London or Paris to see it, buy it and listen to it and then say 'Who are the guys from Wisconsin? They're good,' " said Sewell, a New Zealand native who became an American citizen last year. "We've got a good product, and we want to get it into the right hands."
Listening to the polished and professional results, you would never guess the CD was put together over a single weekend last April. The CD is exceptionally well engineered, which may explain the delay in getting it to the market. (The CD was originally supposed to be released in June at the beginning of last summer's Concerts on the Square.) The piano and orchestral playing are thoroughly and convincingly Mozartean, but in a strong, assertive sense. Even on the modern instruments, you hear Classical-era transparency, charm and wit. But you also find muscular Mozart, not the dainty, music-box Mozart. You hear a full-blooded composer with crisp tempi, finely delineated inner voices, a lot of dialogue among various instruments and the piano, and the kind of dramatic moments and lyrical lines that Mozart brought to his operas.
The Sewell-Neiman collaboration is an inspired partnership of shared affinities that one hopes to hear more from both live in concert and in recordings, and Sewell said the chances of that are very good.
Some listeners might complain that the set doesn't really exploit the 80-minute-per-disc format to its maximum since each disc runs between 45 and 55 minutes. And it might have been nice to have Neiman, who plays a vast repertoire, to couple one or two of the early Mozart piano sonatas. But then again, how many times do you sit still for an 80-minute session? Besides, this program coheres organically and makes perfect sense just as it is.
The recording is an excellent program, performed exceptionally and recorded with outstanding sonics and an upfront piano sound by the local recording engineers Buzz Kemper, Sarah Jennings Evans, Steve Gotcher and Amanda Leonard of Audio for the Arts. The piano was provided by Farley's House of Pianos, on Madison's far west side.
Jacob Stockinger, Madison Capitol Times, March 12, 2007
Track Listing:
Disc 1: (53:59)
Piano Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major, K.238
1. I. Allegro Aperto (7:10)
2. II. Andante un poco adagio (6:02)
3. III. Rondeau: Allegro (7:32)
Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K.271 Jeunehomme
4. I. Allegro (10.42)
5. II. Andantino (12.09)
6. III. Rondeau: Presto - Menuetto: Cantabile - Presto (10:21)
Disc 2: (49:11)
Piano concerto No. 8 in C Major, K 246 Lützow
1. I. Allegro Aperto (7:36)
2. II. Andante (7:48)
3. III. Rondeau: Tempo di menuetto (2:12)
Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K 504 Prague
4. I. Adagio - Allegro (10.43)
5. II. Andante (9:54)
6. III. Presto (5.56)
TT - 103:10
