Mozart: Piano Sonatas K. 457, 533, 545, 570 & 576 Angela Hewitt

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475:
• 1 Mozart: Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475 13:08
• Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457:
• 2 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457: I. Molto allegro 09:23
• 3 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457: II. Adagio 07:30
• 4 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457: III. Allegro assai 05:15
• Piano Sonata No. 15 in F Major, K. 533/494:
• 5 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 15 in F Major, K. 533/494: I. Allegro, K. 533 09:06
• 6 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 15 in F Major, K. 533/494: II. Andante, K. 533 08:01
• 7 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 15 in F Major, K. 533/494: III. Rondo. Allegretto, K. 494 06:46
• Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile":
• 8 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile": I. Allegro 05:02
• 9 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile": II. Andante 05:04
• 10 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545 "Sonata facile": III. Rondo. Allegretto 01:57
• Rondo in D Major, K. 485:
• 11 Mozart: Rondo in D Major, K. 485 07:17
• Gigue in G Major, K. 574:
• 12 Mozart: Gigue in G Major, K. 574 01:29
• 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265:
• 13 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Theme "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" 00:52
• 14 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 1 00:50
• 15 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 2 00:49
• 16 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 3 00:50
• 17 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 4 00:49
• 18 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 5 00:45
• 19 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 6 00:47
• 20 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 7 00:50
• 21 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 8 01:01
• 22 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 9 00:45
• 23 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 10 00:47
• 24 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 11. Adagio 03:11
• 25 Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 12 01:33
• Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat Major, K. 570:
• 26 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat Major, K. 570: I. Allegro 09:40
• 27 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat Major, K. 570: II. Adagio 08:06
• 28 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat Major, K. 570: III. Allegretto 04:18
• Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576:
• 29 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576: I. Allegro 05:52
• 30 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576: II. Adagio 05:24
• 31 Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576: III. Allegretto 04:36
• Adagio in B Minor, K. 540:
• 32 Mozart: Adagio in B Minor, K. 540 08:52
• Rondo in A Minor, K. 511:
• 33 Mozart: Rondo in A Minor, K. 511 10:06
• Total Runtime 02:30:41

Info for Mozart: Piano Sonatas K. 457, 533, 545, 570 & 576

‘If this first volume is anything to go by, the journey will be a joy’ was BBC Music Magazine’s prediction when Angela Hewitt embarked on her Mozart piano sonata cycle. This final volume goes to show just how right they were, the five sonatas recorded here providing a fitting climax to the whole series.

Between November 1783 and October 1784, Mozart didn’t get around to writing another piano sonata. He was instead busy composing piano concertos for his subscription concerts in Vienna and having great success with them. Five in all were written during those months: K449, 450, 451, 453 and 456. His energy and inspiration knew no bounds, and he was riding high on a wave of popularity. In September 1784, Constanze delivered their second son (the first having died the previous year in infancy), and just over a week later they moved into a huge and expensive apartment in the Schulerstraße. Life was good.

For eight months before that move, the Mozarts lived in the Trattnerhof—a sumptuous building belonging to Johann von Trattner (at the time the leading music publisher and bookseller in Vienna) and his second wife Maria Theresia, forty years his junior. Although Mozart’s apartment was small, what attracted him to this address was the fact that it included a concert hall, and the first three of those piano concertos were premiered there. It certainly made things easier just to move his piano within the building itself! Maria Theresia had been Mozart’s pupil since December 1781, and it was for her that he wrote, in October 1784, his Sonata in C minor, K457. Some seven months later, he composed, again for her, the great Fantasia in C minor, K475, publishing them both together in December 1785.

She must have been no ordinary pupil to receive the dedication of these two masterpieces. Indeed, there has been speculation (and only that, no proof) that there was more to the relationship, tantalizingly supported by the fact that we know Mozart wrote her two letters concerning the interpretation of these pieces, but, despite Constanze’s efforts to retrieve them after Wolfgang’s death, Theresia took them with her to her grave (she died aged thirty-five, as did Mozart). ...

Angela Hewitt, piano

Angela Hewitt
is a renowned pianist who is celebrated for her wide-ranging repertoire and acclaimed Bach performances. A frequent performer in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, she has built a reputation as one of Bach’s foremost interpreters, earning accolades for her award-winning recordings.

In March 2024, Hewitt began her latest major project, The Mozart Odyssey, performing all of Mozart’s piano concertos, first appearing with Pierre Bleuse and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. The project follows her acclaimed Bach “Odyssey” cycle (2016–2024), where she performed the composer’s complete keyboard works across 12 recitals. The Mozart project continues in 2024–2025 with performances in nine countries. Her conductor-led performances include the Brussels Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto and Vancouver Symphony orchestras, and the Ulster Orchestra, among others.

Hewitt maintains a busy recital schedule throughout 2024–2025, including concerts in New York City, Seoul, Toronto, Vienna, Rome, Milan, Utrecht, Bern, and Oxford, as well as her regular appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall. The season includes two return recital tours to Australia and Japan, including performances in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Tokyo, and Kyoto.

Hewitt’s award-winning cycle for Hyperion Records of Bach’s major keyboard works has been called “one of the record glories of our age” (The Sunday Times). Her discography also includes albums of Couperin, Rameau, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Fauré, Debussy, Chabrier, Ravel, Messiaen, and Granados. Her most recent recordings include the first two volumes of Mozart’s complete piano sonatas, with the final set due for release in 2025. In 2015, Gramophone magazine inducted her into its Hall of Fame.

Born in Ottawa to a musical family, Hewitt started playing piano at age three and first performed publicly at age four. She studied at the University of Ottawa with Jean-Paul Sévilla and won the 1985 International Bach Piano Competition in Toronto, launching her career. In 2006, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II made her an Officer of the British Empire. In 2015, she became a Companion of the Order of Canada, her native country’s highest civilian honour. Hewitt has seven honorary doctorates, is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and was awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal in 2020 for her service to classical music and longstanding relationship with the venue.

Hewitt lives in London but also has homes in Ottawa and Umbria, Italy, where, 20 years ago, she founded the Trasimeno Music Festival—a week-long annual event drawing an audience from all over the world.

Angela Hewitt plays a Fazioli piano.

Booklet for Mozart: Piano Sonatas K. 457, 533, 545, 570 & 576