"Hommage á MOZART" – Sonata for 2 Pianos K. 448 (movement one only); Sonata for 2 Pianists K. 19d; MICK BAUMEISTER: Ballade about Mozart; Vicious Circle; RICHIE BEIRACH: Fantasy on a Theme from Mozart Piano Concerto K. 488; LISZT: Reminiscences de Don Juan – Duo-pianists Hans-Peter & Volker Stenzl/ Jazzduo Mick Baumeister and Richie Beirach – Ars Musici 232417, 62:43 (Distr. by Qualiton) ***(*):
After the opening flourishes and charming interludes of the first movement of Mozart’s mature Sonata K. 448 for 2 Pianos, played with energy and precision by Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl, the recital send in a quartet of improvisatory pieces by contemporary jazz masters Mick Baumeister (out of Berlin) and Richie Beirach (jazz pianist out of New York), and Franz Liszt (out of the past). The coolest jazz is Baumeister’s 14-minute "Vicious Circle." The zaniest Mozartian liberties are taken compliments of Liszt.
The recital ends with (almost) a return to sanity in the form of Mozart’s very early 4-hand Sonata K. 19d, composed by the 9-year old Mozart in May 1765. It is like much of the young Mozart, charming, heavily influenced by the galant style represented by JC Bach, and already with a superb sense of theater. I say "almost" because as they get deeper into Wolfgang’s music the brothers Stenzl add some "jazzy" twists and elaborations that would definitely represent edgy in Wolfgang’s head. All in all, it’s a surprisingly mind-bending excursion into what we think Mozart sounds like.
Recorded in the studios of the Southwest German Radio in Stuttgart, the sound is quite lovely and takes volume exceptionally well.
— Laurence Vittes
