Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, KV 466
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, KV 491
Fantasy in C Minor, KV 396
Fantasy in D Minor, KV 397

Russell Sherman, piano
Orchetra of Emmanuel Music
Craig Smith, conductor

Audio Samples:

Fantasy in D Minor, KV 397

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, KV 466
      Allegro

$17.00

FEATURE ARTICLE/CLASSICAL MUSIC

September 14, Boston – The Orchestra of Emmanuel Music, under the direction of Craig Smith, has just released a new all-Mozart CD featuring pianist Russell Sherman. Mr. Sherman and Mr. Smith’s Orchestra of Emmanuel Music have collaborated in presenting Mozart birthday concerts for over 25 years.

The CD features two piano concertos that changed this musical form forever. The D Minor Concerto K. 466 has a mysterious and raw drama that prefigures the dark and troubled world of Don Giovanni. It is among the works that gave Mozart his reputation as the first Romantic composer. The C Minor Concerto K. 491 is more symphonic and represents Mozart’s most ambitious large-scale orchestral writing in his concerti.

The CD also includes two earlier solo piano Fantasies. The D Minor Fantasy has a classical poise and perfection of form. The C Minor Fantasy, left unfinished at Mozart’s death, was ably completed by his student, Maximilian Stadler, and has become a central piece in the Mozart piano repertoire.

Pianist Russell Sherman has been called “the thinking man’s virtuoso” who interprets music with remarkable intelligence. As Bernard Holland wrote in the New York Times, “Mr. Sherman is quite simply one of the best pianists in this or any country.” Known especially for his performances of Beethoven, Mr. Sherman has also recorded the music of Schubert, Schumann, Haydn, Liszt, and others.

Craig Smith, the founder and Artistic Director of Emmanuel Music, began 30 years ago performing the cycle of Bach cantatas as part of the weekly service at Emmanuel Church in Boston. Many Emmanuel Music musicians have achieved national and international renown. Mr. Smith and the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music have performed critically acclaimed concerts of Mozart and Handel operas, Bach’s B Minor Mass, St. Matthew and St. John Passions, and Schubert’s rarely heard opera Alfonso und Estrella. Previous Emmanuel Music recordings include the critically acclaimed Bach Cantatas BWV 82 & 199 featuring Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Nonesuch).

For more information, call (617) 536-3356.

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