MOZART IN PARIS (Six Violin Sonatas, Op. 1) - GIL & ORLI SHAHAM

Gil Shaham violinOrli Shaham pianoWe often search through composers’ words in vain, unable to find enough information on their motivation and intentions in writing a particular piece. How lucky, then, to have Mozart’s letter from Munich on 6 October 1777 to give us the rationale behind his decision to write sonatas for keyboard and violin: “I enclose for my sister six duets for keyboard and violin by Schuster, which I have often played here. They aren’t bad. If I stay on, I’ll write six myself in same style [gusto], which is very popular here.” Within this short passage we learn that Mozart played chamber music by other composers; that Mannheimers liked the so-called “accompanied sonatas” as well, because Mozart continued to play them there (Mannheim, 8 November, at Wendling’s: “I played three duets with violin accompaniment which I had never seen and the composer of which I had never even heard of”); that Mozart’s impetus in writing the pieces was to compete with, improve upon, and g