Mozart: Violin Sonatas on Oboe

Mozart didn’t write a single oboe sonata, but listening to these glistening performances might make you believe otherwise. Adapting three of Mozart’s violin sonatas, the London Symphony Orchestra’s principal oboist, Olivier Stankiewicz, makes each one utterly his own with characterful, fluid playing that proves the instrument’s suitability for both Mozart’s long melodic lines and sense of playfulness. And in the Andante to Sonata in B-Flat Major, K. 454, Stankiewicz’s oboe sings the melody as if it were an operatic aria. Pianist Jonathan Ware is the equal star: In Sonata in B-Flat Major, K. 378, in particular, he partners Stankiewicz with sensitivity while also delighting in Mozart’s filigree passagework.