Hidden Voices, Mozart Piano Sonatas, Volume VI Gil Sullivan

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major, K283:
• 1 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major, K283: I. Allegro 04:47
• 2 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major, K283: II. Andante 05:36
• 3 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major, K283: III. Presto 04:24
• Piano Sonata No. 17 in F Major, K547a:
• 4 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 17 in F Major, K547a: I. Allegro 06:41
• 5 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 17 in F Major, K547a: II. Allegretto 02:36
• 6 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 17 in F Major, K547a: III. 6 Variations on an Allegretto 07:59
• Piano Sonata No. 6 in D Major, K284, "Dürnitz":
• 7 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 6 in D Major, K284, "Dürnitz": I. Allegro 05:51
• 8 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 6 in D Major, K284, "Dürnitz": II. Rondeau en polonaise - Andante 04:45
• 9 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 6 in D Major, K284, "Dürnitz": III. Tema con variazione - Andante 20:48
• Total Runtime 01:03:27

Info for Hidden Voices, Mozart Piano Sonatas, Volume VI

“Choppy and no legato”! This was Beethoven’s description of Mozart’s playing years after the latter’s death. The way we hear Mozart nowadays has become such a cliché, it’s virtually impossible to ever dream of Mozart today being played in the way Beethoven describes. Nor are we able to hear all his originality when it is always played the same, clichéd way. No one could ever be more qualified than Beethoven to make this call, therefore this is arguably the closest we will ever come to a ‘recording’ of Mozart’s playing. The sweet, pretty, right-handed (where everything in the left hand is nothing more than a mere accompaniment) playing, with all those competition fingers smoothly & effortlessly ironing out all Mozart’s eccentricities, has become the norm, where repeated phrases and whole sections are always played exactly the same way!

Recently listening to one of the greats of our time playing K284, I naturally found the playing wonderful, though unexpectedly observed myself admiring this much more than Mozart’s actual music. I think this sums up my basic philosophy about Mozart; his music today has become just a vehicle for beautiful, smooth piano/orchestral/instrumental playing, instead of Mozart’s music – with all it’s effervescent eccentricities, it’s joie de vivre, it’s extemporaneous, spontaneous qualities, plus its hiccuped, jolted and jerky dynamics (especially in the slow movements) - all being at the centre of what one listens to.

We know Mozart was arguably the greatest improviser in history, and this element should be glaringly obvious in the performance of his music. A score posted to the publisher on Monday may well have been quite different had he sent it the following Friday, so nothing about his music should ever be set in stone! To play a phrase or whole section twice exactly the same way is a cardinal sin, and in my view, the music momentarily stagnates; it ceases to move forward when this happens.

In this cycle of the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas, I have – in some small way – tried to strip back all the Botox, the lip gloss, the false eyelashes, the mascara and makeup, and - though admittedly on a modern Steinway - get back to Mozart in the raw! Gil Sullivan

Gil Sullivan, grand piano

Gil Sullivan
One of Australia's resident full-time concert pianist, Gil Sullivan tours extensively both around Australia and overseas, performing each year throughout Asia, Europe, the U.K., and the United States. He has performed twice in New York's Carnegie Hall, plus given recitals in The Amsterdam Concertgebouw, The Berlin Konzerthaus, The Bruges Concertgebouw, Chicago's Centre for International Performance and Exhibition, New Hampshire's Claremont Opera House, the National Opera House of Vietnam, plus the National Concert Halls of Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, and has recorded concertos by Tchaikovsky and Schumann for CD with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Sullivan's performances are conspicuous for their freshness and spontaneity, challenging audiences, taking both them and the music to the edge with his rich palette of colours, immense tonal range, and innovative interpretations.

He has been recognised as "The finest interpreter of Mozart in the world" (Südhessen Woche - Germany) while the New York Concert Review described him as "a pianist possessed of supreme intelligence and phenomenal technical prowess in equal measure."

After studies and numerous prizes in Australia, Mr. Sullivan completed his studies with Murray Perahia in London, and Paul Badura-Skoda in Vienna.

Booklet for Hidden Voices, Mozart Piano Sonatas, Volume VI