[SACD-R][OF] Mozart - Complete Sonatas for keyboard & violin, vol. 1 (Gary Cooper & Rachel Podger) - 2004 (Classical/Chamber/Piano/Violin)

Cables: Van den Hul T3 series
Digital Converters: Meitner A/D DSD / Meitner DA
Mastering Equipment: B&W 803 diamond series
Microphones: Bruel & Kjaer, Schoeps
Mixing Board: Rens Heijnis custom design
Recording Software: Pyramix bij Merging
Recording Type & Bit Rate: DSD64
Speakers: Audiolab, Holland

The duo partnership Gary Cooper & Rachel Podger has taken them worldwide. These recordings of Mozart’s Complete Sonatas for Keyboard & Violin have received countless awards & accolades, including multiple Diapason d’Or awards & Gramophone Editor’s Choices, & hailed as ‘benchmark’ recordings.
“Finally, one asks why there hasn’t previously been a complete recording on historical instruments. From my ‘privileged’ position as listener-in-chief, I can tell you it is because no pair can make such transparent & difficult music sound so effortless, elegant, witty, emotionally persuasive & enjoyable.
~ Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, producer.
Anyone thinking of Mozart as a performer probably imagines him at a harpsichord or fortepiano, an accurate picture. Mozart was a gifted keyboard player, but not a showman of the keyboard. He detested empty virtuosity. Wolfgang, however, had been trained from his earliest years by his father Leopold as a double talent. He played both harpsichord & violin. The popularity of his sonatas, variation sets, & concerti for the piano has tended to overshadow his violin compositions, but the 1st sounds that his baby ears received probably came from his father’s violin. Wolfgang heard him tuning the instrument, saw him putting on new strings now & then, playing, rehearsing. He heard Leopold praising his violin & commenting on the music. Until Wolfgang moved to Vienna in 1781, the sound of the violin had accompanied him virtually every day of his life, for Leopold had been with him almost constantly……..
AllMusic:
Fans who were blown away by Rachel Podger’s acclaimed Bach & Telemann recordings have no doubt waited with baited breath for her to work the same magic on Mozart’s sonatas for keyboard & violin. That these sonatas are largely – though not always – stacked against the violin is not an impediment to enjoyment, nor is the quirky quality of the fortepiano an obstacle: Podger is clearly the star of this recording, & her vivid playing always draws the listener’s attention & admiration. Partly due to her strength & confidence, but also to the fascinating sounds she produces on her 1739 Pesarinius violin, Podger is always at the forefront & a delight to hear, even when Mozart gives her next to nothing to do. Even the tedious staccato arpeggios in the Andante of K. 6 are interesting here, proof positive that Podger can make music out of the flimsiest material. Gary Cooper is an enthusiastic partner to Podger, & his accompaniment is idiomatic & quite expressive; though the sound of the fortepiano may be an acquired taste for some, Cooper controls its timbres well enough to keep it from sounding too tinny or boxy. Channel Classics provides terrific sound on this SACD, though it is not compatible with some CD players, contrary to the label’s claim.
Rachel Podger says:
In recording these Mozart Sonatas, a paradox quickly became apparent. I feel Mozart’s music is aimed at the heart. Approaching his music instinctively comes most naturally to me: it seems so effortlessly composed, & communicates to us directly. After all, why do children react so positively to this music of the heart? And yet I also found my experience of performing Baroque music helped me find a way of understanding & appreciating Mozart’s style. The inclusion of early, middle & late Sonatas on this disc conveys a balanced survey of Mozart’s music for violin & keyboard. Each Sonata stands out clearly in it’s own right, revealing a snapshot in time of his developing personality. This is an ongoing voyage of discovery for me, & I feel I am only at the beginning.