Screening of ‘Il Boemo’ at the 27th Made in Prague Festival sheds new light on forgotten composer, Josef Mysliveček who would become Mozart’s mentor.

The 27th Made in Prague Festival is a long-established arts festival showcasing Czech culture in London. New to the festival, I made my way to the Prince Charles Cinema in Soho last Saturday to attend a special gala screening of the film Il Boemo.  Il Boemo translates as The Boemian or The Czech, and relates to Czech musician, Josef Mysliveček,…

Viennese Winds Blow Through Elisabeth Leonskaja’s Mozart Sonatas

In the past few weeks I’ve been listening to Elisabeth Leonskaja’s Complete Mozart Piano Sonatas. I have now worked my way through six discs, eighteen sonatas and one fantasia. I love Mozart’s sonatas and especially his fantasia, but it must be said that one or two early sonatas come across as a little frothy. That said, this…

May cause drowsiness…..

….each work on this bewitching disc is lovingly played, Chamayou finding much beauty and elegance in simple lyrical melodies and gossamer figurations. His tempos are sensitive and supple, with an insouciant rubato which never feels contrived