Duo Sonatas, Volume 3

Catherine Mackintosh and Geoffrey Govier formed Duo Amadè in order to perform the charming and intimate works for keyboard and violin by Mozart in concert, often with readings from his family letters. In 2006 Duo Amadè performed the whole cycle at the Royal College of Music. Catherine Mackintosh in particular has long been recognised as a pioneering early music spirit and in recording the complete cycle of duo sonatas is fulfilling the ambition of a lifetime.

The First Volume (CHAN 0755) of Duo Sonatas was released in late 2008, being made an ‘Editor’s Choice’ by Gramophone in recognition of its musicality and ‘historically informed performance’. The Second Volume (CHAN 0764) was a ‘Critics’ Choice’ in the December 2009 issue of the same magazine, Duncan Druce writing: ‘I’ve been enjoying the infectiously enthusiastic music-making on Duo Amadè’s second volume of Mozart sonatas. In these wonderful works, Geoffrey Govier and Catherine Mackintosh give the instrumental dialogue the wit and verve of a spirited operatic exchange.’
In this third collection of sonatas, featuring KV 376, KV 378, and KV 526, Duo Amadè once again offers performances of similar spirit and style.

Geoffrey Govier plays a fortepiano made by Christopher Clarke in Cluny, after an instrument by Anton Walter, while Catherine Mackintosh plays a violin by Giovanni Grancino, dating from 1703. These instruments bring a lightness and freshness of articulation to these delightful works, entirely in keeping with the spirit of enlightenment in which the sonatas were written.