W.A. Mozart Violin and Viola Duos K. 423 & 424: The Ferdinand David ‘Uppingham’ Copies in Context and Performance

This web article, which includes links within the CHASE website to digital copies of ‘Uppingham Collection’ items, is the fruit of a collaborative project between Clive Brown (Leeds) and David Milsom (Huddersfield) to document and write a commentary upon the Mozart G Major and B-flat Major Violin & Viola Duos. It includes recordings of the works performed in an experimental ‘historically-informed’ manner on period instruments, utilising copies of the violin and viola parts, from the 'Uppingham Collection', with autograph annotations by the edition's editor Ferdinand David (1810-1873). Setting David’s performing parts in the context of early editions of the Duos, as well as undertaking comparative analyses of these scores with other annotated editions of the 19th and early 20th centuries obtained by CHASE researchers, the project is designed to display the following key elements of innovative practice:

To provide a commentary upon this exciting, newly recovered piece of historical performance evidence.
To contextualise this piece of evidence against an established backdrop of scholarship and expertise embodied in the research and performance activities of the authors.
To make audio recordings of the works in performance acting directly upon this fascinating and important insight into Ferdinand David’s style and performing practice and, inherently, that of the ‘classical German school' of string playing at Leipzig in the 19th century.