Orli Shaham Has MidWeek Mozart
Offerings to the Housebound and Health Workers
By: Susan Hall - Apr 10, 2020
Wednesdays at noon, until further notice, pianist Orli Shaham is graciously previewing a movement of a Mozart Sonata. Known as a Mozart specialist Shaham is recording the complete Mozart Sonatas. Canary Classics will release them next summer.
Shaham says, “It is our hope that music helps restore your soul in the current moment. Every Wednesday, I’ll bring you a new movement of a Mozart piano sonata, available through the special YouTube link. You can enjoy this music until the following Wednesday, and the next installment!”
The Andante of Mozart's K333 grows out of the first movement. Yet it is serene and lyric. Shaham has a lovely touch, lingering on some tones, and always bringing charm to a passage.
Shaham’s take feels both fresh and deeply expressive. In her introspection, she holds fast to the material of the first movement, which gives a strong gravitational pull. She clearly appreciates Mozart’s apparent simplicity and plays with it. Counterpoint between the upper and lower registers of the work is a dialogue.
While this may tease the entire sonata, it is very satisfying in its own right and well worth a noon dip into Mozart. Midweek Mozart's can be found here.
Shaham and her husband, David Robertson, did a special version of Steve Reich’s Clapping for the health care workers of New York.
The New York Philharmonic offered thanks through a Zoom version of Ravel’s Bolero.
Musicians and great composers are not going to let us fall prey to the virus raging about us.
"Let Your Garden Grow," from Heartbeat Opera with special thanks to all the health care workers.