by Daniel Hathaway
Whatever happened to the siblings of famous musicians?
That’s a particularly interesting question in the case of Marianne Mozart, Wolfgang Amadé’s beloved sister, nicknamed Nannerl, who in her youth was highly regarded as a pianist and composer, but whose works have completely disappeared.
On March 22 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Les Délices honored the music of Mozart’s sister in its absence with a fascinating recital of music by women composers from her era performed by fortepianist Mark Edwards and violinist Shelby Yamin.
Edwards is a celebrated harpsichordist and organist on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, but this performance marked his public debut as a fortepianist, as well as his inaugural appearance as a duo with Yamin.
The concert featured a handsome instrument from the Museum’s collection by the pioneering modern builder Phillip Belt, whose work was influenced by such historic craftspeople as Johann Andreas Stein and Anton Walter. Although the instrument’s ability to achieve subtle gradations of dynamics and articulation might have been better appreciated in a smaller space, Edward’s skillful keyboard technique made it clear what expressive effects proponents of the fortepiano were after.
Wolfgang Mozart’s music bookended the program, beginning with his Sonata in B-flat, KV 31 from 1764 and ending with the Sonata in C, KV 296 from 1781.
Both performers joyfully coaxed long lines and beautiful sounds from their period instruments, in Mark Edward’s case producing a range of colors within a limited palette of hues. In the final, C-major Sonata, the duo wove melodic lines above a simple bass and made the most of the catchy Rondo theme.
If some of the other works on the program didn’t quite measure up to the level of sophistication of the two Mozart Sonatas, there was still plenty of attractive music to enjoy.
The Sonata Op. 2, No. 4 from 1780 by Franziska Lebrun (née Danzi) was lightweight and typical of the galant style that replaced the gravity of the high Baroque.
More interesting was Maddalena Lombardini’s Sonata in A (1776), a fun piece that covered the full range of the violin and ascended into the stratosphere. Shelby Yamin handled its many double stops and thorny technical passages with grace and conviction.
Jane Mary Guest’s Sonata Op.1 No. 3 in B-flat (c.1774, published in 1784) used felt between the hammers and strings to produce a muted effect for the simple but beautiful Adagio melody. The concluding Presto was fun and lively, bold yet delicate, and featured fast unison scales between the two instruments.
Before the final Wolfgang piece, Mark Edwards gave a magnificent solo performance of Josepha Barbara Auernhammer’s delightful Variations on Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja (1792) from Wolfgang Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
It was a shame that Marianne Mozart had to miss this party.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com April 22, 2026
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