Stephen Hough's Mozart Album

SUNDAY TIMES CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE INSTRUMENTAL CHOICE

'Here's another winning, imaginatively conceived disc from Britain's finest pianist … It is unexpected and delightful programme-building. Prized for his pianism, Hough is also a superb Mozartian. He lends these Fantasias an almost Beethovenian weight and depth of expression … Hough's playing is dazzling throughout' (Sunday Times)

'A bold and dramatic account of Mozart's K475 C minor Fantasia opens this memorable and imaginatively devised recital. While emphasising the prophetically romantic nature of the music, Stephen Hough takes great care not to overplay its more forceful passages … The final party piece, the Liszt/Busoni Fantasia on themes from The Marriage of Figaro, is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser given an exhilharating performance guaranteed to bring the house down' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Hyperion's imaginative new collection shows this protean artist to be equally at home in the Classical repertoire. Not surprisingly, he offers romantic and highly pianistic Mozart … The result is a trio of performances of splendid variety … The recital ends rousingly with Liszt's Figaro Fantasia. Compared to the other post-Mozartian rarities, of course, this is standard fare - but it sounds freshly minted in this improvisatory reading … notable for his revelatory inner-line clarity even in the most congested textures and for his ability to reveal the underlying gestures in passages, that, even in Gilels' hands, emerge as a mere blur of notes. Excellent Hyperion sound and useful notes by Harriet Smith only add to the virtues of this first-rate release' (International Record Review

Hyperion is delighted to present an eagerly awaited recital disc from Stephen Hough. This fascinating programme begins with some of Mozart's most audacious and forward-looking piano works. Mozart's Fantasia in C minor K475 is a wonderfully unfettered and uninhibited work, suffused with high drama and a sense of constantly shifting moods. The Piano Sonata in B flat major K333 is a similarly ground-breaking piece, developing in scale and drama from its lyrical, gentle opening.

The second part of the disc features Mozart as seen by others, from the homage of a near-contemporary right up to the modern day, with Hough's own irresistibly quirky Mozart imaginings, and from elegant miniatures to Liszt/Busoni's virtuosic Figaro Fantasy. This disc is full of surprises, and demonstrates the full range of Hough's extraordinary artistry.