Notes and Editorial Reviews
Recital Review from
Die Presse (08/1957):
"The piano recital that Clara Haskil gave at the Mozarteum may be described as a festival of music distinguished by magic of a very special kind. Everything is directed inwards. The magic, the radiance and the concentration that emanate from the platform are so powerful that everything else - the concert hall and the auditorium - seem to fade away, so that listeners think that all all that they can sense and perceive is the presence of the artist. Thus she sits at the piano, delicate and frail, her physical appearance, too, suggestive of someone turned in upon herself and entirely committed to her art; and thus she casts her magical spell, drawing listeners into her
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irresistible sway. The element of magic and spirituality seems so essential to her artistry that one forgets to be astonished at the amount of physical power and the delicacy of touch of which she is in fact capable.
And so she plays three choice piano sonatas: Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. And on each occasion she presents not only the form and outward garb of the piece but also its spiritual form, its soul and its idea. She offers what is essential and intrinsic to the work, what exists behind the notes on the printed page and what is accessible only to the elect. Her art and function consists in bringing out this essence, a function that she exercises much as a priest performs his office, with shyness, humility and at the same time with the inner assurance and the convistion on an initiate."
Heinrich Kralik, Die Presse, August 1957
Album Review from ClassicsToday:
Clara Haskil's magnificent August 8, 1957 Salzburg Festival recital previously appeared on the Music and Arts label. However, Orfeo's transfer apparently stems from Austrian Radio's master tape, yielding far superior sound quality in terms of dynamic range, amplitude, sound projection, and color. If anything, the Beethoven E-flat sonata's rollicking finale acquires more urgency, tonal weight (the massive chords at the beginning of the first movement's development section), and inner drive. In the Schubert B-flat's Molto Moderato the melodic trajectory seems more shapely and subtle. I also infer more dramatic immediacy in Haskil's angular passagework and hard-hitting accents throughout Mozart's C major sonata. In essence, Orfeo's sonic upgrade reinforces my preference for these live readings over the pianist's studio versions of the same works. An essential release for Clara Haskil fans.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording
1.
Sonata for Piano no 10 in C major, K 330 (300h) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Clara Haskil (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1781-1783
Date of Recording: 08/08/1957
Venue: Live Mozarteum, Salzburger Festspielen
Length: 15 Minutes 39 Secs.
2.
Sonata for Piano no 18 in E flat major, Op. 31 no 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Clara Haskil (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 1802; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 08/08/1957
Venue: Live Mozarteum, Salzburger Festspielen
Length: 19 Minutes 0 Secs.
3.
Sonata for Piano in B flat major, D 960 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Clara Haskil (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1828; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 08/08/1957
Venue: Live Mozarteum, Salzburger Festspielen
Length: 31 Minutes 32 Secs.
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