Mozart: Works For Violin And Piano

Between 1778-1788, Mozart composed some two dozen works, mostly sonatas, for the violin and piano. The first four volumes in this European Video Library: Music Series offer a diverse sampling of these works. The titles in no particular order are: Sonata in A Major(K 305)/Variations in G Minor (K 360), Sonata in C Major (K 303)/Sonata in E Minor (K 304), Sonata in D Major (K 306), and Sonata in G Major (K 301)/Sonata in E-flat Major (K 302). Salvatore Accardo, plays two Stradivarius violins-the Francescatti and the "Firebird." His partner, Bruno Canino, plays a Steinway piano. Recorded in stereo (as opposed to stereo hi-fi), the music sounds very good, but doesn't offer the crystal clarity often found on stereo hi-fi recordings. The setting, an Italian drawing room, is pleasing to the eye, yet doesn't provide much of an ongoing visual stimulus. Ditto for the performers, a pair of gifted (and somehow oddly Dickensian) players who are wholly engaged in their task. Classical music, to me, seems to be the least suitable candidate for music video-especially conventional music videos such as this set-in that, with the exception of certain performers, the music-not the performer-is the focal point. On the other hand, music videos are, I think, a valid and important part of a library video collection, and that collection should reflect a wide variety of tastes and styles. The Mozart series is recommended then, as straightforward classical music videos. (See CARAVAGGIO for availability.)