218. A Mozart Menu

Works by Mozart for voice, performed by the Boston Children’s Chorus on November 1, 2014, solo piano performed by Paavali Jumppanen, piano on February 13, 2011, and two pianos performed by Christina and Michelle Naughton, pianos on March 10, 2013.

Mozart: Pappagano

Mozart: Sonata No. 10 in C Major, K. 330

Mozart: Sonata for Two Pianos K. 448 in D Major

Mozart always makes for a delightful musical menu. On this podcast, we’ll enjoy three courses, all wonderful works by Mozart. Our appetizer comes courtesy of the Boston Children’s Chorus, who perform the “Papageno” aria from The Magic Flute to start things off. The aria is a sweet love duet between Papageno, the prince’s loyal friend and slightly goofy companion, and his newfound love—his counterpart in female form, appropriately named Papagena. Next comes Mozart’s tenth piano sonata, in C Major. The piece was almost certainly intended for broad public consumption: though it has some challenging passagework, it is playable for an amateur audience with a piano at home, and it may even have been written with Mozart’s own aristocratic piano students in mind. We’ll hear the piece played by Paavali Jumppanen. For our third and final course, we have Mozart’s larger-still Sonata for two pianos in D Major. It is a virtuosic work from the get-go, requiring not just great individual technique but strong coordination between the two players. We’ll hear it performed by Christina and Michelle Naughton, twin sisters who often play together.