KEYBOARD CONVERSATIONS Mozart and Friends

Drawn from pianist Siegel's popular Keyboard Conversations series, this hour-long "concert with commentary" features full performances of some nine pieces by composers who either influenced Mozart (Johann Christian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn) or were his rivals (Muzio Clementi, Antonio Salieri), and one piece from Mozart himself--the "Fantasy in D Minor." Siegel does a fine job sketching in the historic and artistic groundwork before each performance in commentaries that are informative and well spoken, though necessarily light on detail. Siegel's keyboard work is fluid, nicely detailed, and well recorded, but listeners hoping to hear more than one Mozart piece or who are in search of new details about Mozart or his work should look elsewhere. M.G. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]