Instrumentation: Vln Pf Editor: Eisen ISMN: M-57708-560-9 Format: Sheet Music Details: Contents: Sonatas K296, K376-K380; Andante and Fugue K402 (completed by Stadler); Sonata K403 (completed by Stadler). Contents: This complete edition of the Mozart sonatas for violin and keyboard has been researched and prepared by Cliff Eisen, one of the mostdistinguished Mozart scholars of our time. Professor Eisen recognizes that many of the apparent inconsistencies and idiosynchrasiesof Mozart's notation are perfectly deliberate, and that the attempts in many other editions to impose uniformity upon similar phrases or musical paragraphs can bemisguided. As he writes in the preface, '...the notion that the classical style represents a model of symmetry, balance and clarity is for the most part an 19th-centuryfiction...it has little to do with Mozart's actual practice, which is based primarily onvariety of both content and articulation.' So in this new edition, alternative readingsfound in parallel passages are preserved, rather than being sterilized by a spurious quest for conformity. Naturally all such instances are noted within the Critical Commentary. The highly individual beaming within Mozart's autographs is also respectedin the new edition, as this often contributes to our aural perceptions of phrase structure and accent. Professor Eisenis conscious that there is no single 'Urtext' for this music. On the contrary, hebelieves that 'there is compelling evidence that Mozart's later performances of his works were characterized by changes--sometimes substantial changes--in the musical text.' It is the achievement of thisedition to indicate how far this freedom of musical expression can extend, and as such it is likely to take pride of place in the collections of all those involved in the study and performance of these masterpieces.
