MARGARETHE DANZI (1768-1800): 3 Sonatas for Piano with Obliggato Violin, Op. 1, WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791): 6 variations on "Hélas, j'ai perdu mon amant" in G, K. 360 (374b).

Description: Wife of composer Franz, Margarethe also spent two years (1782-84) living with Leopold Mozart and became famous as a soprano for her Susanna, Fiodiligi, Queen of the Night, Donna Anna and Blonde. These sonatas are undated but may have been composed during her studies with Leopold and, at any rate, probably predate her marriage in 1790. The violin is almost the piano's equal and the inspiration and technical accomplishment place Margarethe beyond such amateur woman contemporaries as Franziska Lebrun or Maria Barthélemon. A 28-page, all-English booklet provides four times the information about the composer, her family and friends you'd expect from any other label today. Vaughan Schlepp (fortepiano), Antoinette Lohmann (violin).