{"id":111500,"date":"2025-02-05T13:15:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T18:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=111500"},"modified":"2025-02-05T13:15:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T18:15:25","slug":"interview-unexpectedly-mozart-dorian-komanoff-bandy-catherine-cosbey-talk-mozart-string-duos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/02\/05\/interview-unexpectedly-mozart-dorian-komanoff-bandy-catherine-cosbey-talk-mozart-string-duos\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Unexpectedly Mozart: Dorian Komanoff Bandy And Catherine Cosbey Talk About Mozart: String Duos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Musicians
Musicians Catherine Cosbey and Dorian Komanoff Bandy (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dorian Komanoff Bandy and Catherine Cosbey recently released their album Mozart: String Duos on the Leaf Music label. The recording includes arrangements of two violin duets that have never been recorded before.<\/p>\n

On the release, the duo perform the composer\u2019s Duo in G Major for Violin and Viola, K. 423, and Duo in B-flat major for Violin and Viola, K. 424. Cosbey plays the violin, and Bandy both violin and viola on 18th century German-made instruments.<\/p>\n

Along with the Duos, they perform selections from Mozart\u2019s late opera La clemenza di Tito, K 621, arranged for two violins by Johann Christian Stumpf (1740 \u2013 1800). The operatic excerpts include: I. Come ti piace imponi 8 II. Deh se piacer mi vuoi 9 III. Deh prendi un dolce amplesso 10 VII. Parto, ma tu ben mio 11 VIII. Ah grazie si rendano.<\/p>\n

The Violin Sonata in A Major, K. 305 is the second newly recorded arrangement. The anonymous arrangement, created in Paris in 1799, turns the Sonata into a piece for two violins.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Dorian Komanoff Bandy and Catherine Cosbey about the recording and their approach to the music. Both musicians are also educators. Cosbey serves on the violin and chamber music faculty of McGill University\u2019s Schulich School of Music. Musicologist and performer Dorian Bandy is an Associate Professor in the Music Research and Music Performance department, with a specialty in Early Music and Music History.<\/p>\n

Dorian Komanoff Bandy and Catherine Cosbey: The Interview<\/h2>\n

Dorian Komanoff Bandy is a leading expert on Mozart, making the composer as the natural focus for the album. \u201cI have just written a book on Mozart and it came out about a year ago,\u201d Dorian explains.<\/p>\n

The book, titled Mozart the Performer, Variations on the Showman\u2019s Art, zeroes in to the composer as he was equally or perhaps even better known in his day \u2014 as a virtuoso performer. It\u2019s the culmination of a longstanding interest in the composer and his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, I’ve avoided recording any Mozart,\u201d he says. His research and his performing life don\u2019t often coincide so neatly, but he says the concept had been on his mind for some long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually for me, it all is sort of to hear the research in a way. But I don\u2019t want it to sound like an academic paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

The goal is to present a performance of Mozart that\u2019s \u201cprovocatively different\u201d, which will be a direct result of that research. \u201cI do want to people to think wow \u2014 I’ve never heard Mozart played like that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Catherine comments that performing Mozart with Dorian when they first met was how she knew he was a musical kindred spirit. \u201cOne of the first things we played were the two duos,\u201d she says. \u201cMozart was the perfect meeting place.\u201d Catherine\u2019s background includes extensive work with string quartets, including the Cavani String Quartet (since 2019), and previously the Cecilia and Linden String Quartets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Dorian’s research was this familiar home. It felt like a good place for us,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

The music speaks for itself, but discerning listeners will notice the difference in approach. \u201cWe do want it to be noticed as different,\u201d Catherine adds. Some people reject the idea of deeply researching the music over the concern that the weight of all the data will overshadow interpretation. Diving into the music, though, is about just the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe research is about finding more life in the music,\u201d she says. \u201cWe hope the audience and listeners are dazzled by it.\u201d<\/p>\n