Lili Kraus plays Mozart Sonata K 332 in F major

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):
Sonata in F major KV 332 (300k)
1. Allegro
2. Adagio 6:55
3. Allegro assai 12:29
Lili Kraus (1905-1986), piano
Rec. early 50s

[@ruscharles]

This is among the most brilliant of piano performances I have heard, and 332 is mysterious and profound more than any Mozart I know. Thank you Lili!!

[@JamesVaughan]

I love her playing too. Never heard her in person, unfortunately...she had a strong personality, which was evident in her playing. Of all the women pianists of the 20th century that I wish I could have heard in person, I would say Clara Haskil and Myra Hess top the list...though I did hear Guiomar Novaes give one of her last NY recitals, something I'll never forget...her "Waldstein" and Chopin F-sharp Impromptu remain firmly etched in my mind...she'll forever be my favourite artist!

[@alainspiteri502]

j'ai entendu Lili Krauss en live a Alger en 1958 , je l'a revois tjs saluant son Public avec sa " coiffe" ms surtout une " Alla Turca " inoubliables ; comme Clara Haskil cest une Grande Mozartienne ; tous les mouvements lents des Sonates de Mozart par Clara Haskil ont une ombre de mélancolie à part .

[@morinoroba]

My father was really lucky, when he was younger he listened to her live performance of Mozart sonatas in a sooo small country town in japan... :-D He still talkes how lovely it was.

[@alainspiteri502]

Lili Krauss Alger 1958 Salle Pierre Bordes with Mozart sonata " Alla Turca " , memory . .

[@pianopera]

Well, I think Lili Kraus was a "Piano-Lady" in two ways: she was both upright and grand!

[@JamesVaughan]

Colourful & stylish, not in the least dry or pedantic. Lili Kraus had a most charming & exuberant personality--I heard her interviewed a number of times--and her playing was always vital & richly expressive. Though the greatest Mozart pianist for me is still Clara Haskil--sadly, I only know of 2 sonatas that she recorded, K. 280 & K. 330, and the variations K. 265 & K. 573. Wish she'd recorded all the concertos--though those that Haskil did record are the Everest of Mozart concerto recs., IMO.

[@MrInterestingthings]

She really is amazing in this literature and yet she is right in Bartok . Really fine sensitive playing . Different from some others but she sounds so right in Mozart .

[@berlinzerberus]

Paulprocopolis, what do you mean with 'lady-like'? In my opinion Mme.Kraus wants to convince with extraordinarily musical taste and a sense of style that radiates with sophistication and charm. Therefore she never overdoes in dynamics and she articulates very well, in a word she is playing Mozart properly, very professional and how he should be played. Ok the finale 'schnurrt etwas dahin' and could be played a bit more 'con fuoco', but 'lady-like' is wrong, it´s amateurish in certain bad way.

[@tatiachakhvadze8972]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@morinoroba]

:-D Nice comment! For me her playing is not lady-like/feminine, but more masculine and manlike. But nobody would agree with me about it...! I enjoyed this playing, thank you.

[@ThePianoFiles]

There's a Marcelle Meyer recording - a bit more forthright than this one...

[@paulprocopolis]

A very refined and 'lady-like' performance, delivered with restraint and charm. On balance, I do prefer a slightly more robust approach, especially in the finale. Haskil appears not to have recorded this sonata ... ??

[@francoriva55]

Nick name already used by italian pianist Sergio Fiorentino ???

[@paulprocopolis]

I think there may be a misunderstanding here! If I describe one of my female friends as a 'lady' it is intended as a compliment and, in the above context, there is no implication of amateurishness, more one of refinement.

[@berlinzerberus]

I see, 'lady-like' in German means 'damenhaft' and sometimes the term is used in a pejorative sense for weird and amateurish playing 'VIP'-piano-ladies! ;))

[@AlexanderArsov]

Good performance, I suppose. But after Horowitz it sounds anaemic and very dry to me.

[@meredith218461]

Really! Horowitz rather overemphasises the forte dynamics, however I concede his slow mvt is very beautiful. To me Liuli Kraus gives a beautifully judged performance free of exaggeration.

[@zuzannakowalczyk4837]

Maybe there is something wrong with me, but she doesn't play it rhythmic...

[@pianopera]

jesse livermore What passage are you refering to? The fact that it is Mozart doesn't mean that everything always has to be strictly in tempo.

[@zuzannakowalczyk4837]

but i mean its too emotional. just like romantic music

[@pianopera]

Zuzanna Kowalczyk Mozart was a very emotional man...just listen to his operas...

[@assindiastignani]

+Zuzanna Kowalczyk Of the many extremely intelligent and telling remarks made by the great, late Nikolaus Harnancourt, one on the subject of "stylistic authenticity" and "original performance practice." strikes me as the summation of the topic. He said (words to this effect): "We can never know how these composers performed their own works, and even if we could who cares? We are different people nowadays, we live in a different world, we've experienced inustrialisation, two world wars, atomic bombs, etc. Our reactions to this music have to and should be different from those of people living two hundred yars ago." Of course, all within the bounds of a certain inborn sense of taste and decorum, and THAT, you either have or don't have. Tricky, but so is this business. This performance is wonderful - one of many, many possibilities.

[@AlexanderArsov]

Those words of Harnoncourt sound more than a little ironic considering what a die-hard HIPster he was. In this case he is right, of course. But then one might also say, following the same logic, that we needn't care for the inferior pianos and small orchestras of the late eighteenth century and shouldn't be afraid of playing Mozart on modern concert grands and with bigger and better orchestral forces.