Innovative pianist Katie Mahan presents a lovingly chosen program that brings together the many sides of Mozart's magic.

STEINWAY & SONS is pleased to announce the release of Mozart - Katie Mahan Live on Spirio (STNS 30225) on December 6, 2024, Katie Mahan's newest album for the Steinway label. In her liner notes for the album Mahan writes:

“On this album, I have tried to bring together the many sides of Mozart's magic across the numerous genres in which he composed, from opera to sacred music, orchestral to solo keyboard, and to effect my own pianistic voice on some of his most beloved non-keyboard works. The selections presented here were lovingly chosen to give a glimpse of the infinite variety of Mozart's creative imagination, from the dark psychological drama of Don Giovanni to the spiritual depth of the Requiem, from the endearing charm of Eine kleine Nachtmusik to the virtuosity of the Piano Sonatas K. 309 and K. 311 and the D minor Fantasia K. 397. It is my hope that the program presented on this album will inspire a curiosity to delve deeper into the magical world of Mozart, and that the piano arrangements included here will bring as much joy to my listeners as they did to me in creating them.”

— Katie Mahan

 

“There is some undefinable essence that Mahan seems to draw out of the music, out of the piano that catches the listener and commands attention.”

 Fanfare

 

“Katie Mahan effectively brings out tragedy and pathos...with passionate emphasis.”

 Online Merker
 

 “Mahan's performance is ravishingly eloquent, virtuosic...thoughtful, always serving the music and the composer”

Pizzicato

   

               Album Credits

Mozart Live on Spirio / Katie Mahan • STNS 30225

Release Date: 12/06/2024

Recorded June 20, 2023 at Steinway Hall, New York City.
Producer: Jon Feidner
Engineers: Joshua Frey, Lauren Sclafani, Melody Nieun Hwang
Mixing and Mastering: Daniel Shores
Editor: Kazumi Umeda

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner
Art Direction: Katie Mahan
Photos of Katie Mahan: Aron Dachs, Salzburg
Project Coordinator: Renée Oakford
Piano Technician: John Veitch
Piano: Steinway Model D #607799 (New York) 

About the Artist

American pianist Katie Mahan’s life has always been filled with music, and at the age of four, inspired by attending a performance of Gershwin’s An American in Paris given by the famous French piano duo, Katia & Marielle Labèque, she decided that she wanted to be a concert pianist.  She subsequently began piano studies with her mother, Bobette Mahan, giving her first solo recital two years later at the age of six. An American in Paris opened the door to the vast world of classical music for Katie, and her love of Gershwin quickly led her to discover the music of Debussy and Ravel, the French composers that Gershwin idolized.  Although Katie’s music now takes her all over the world, she never forgets her American heritage, and the great American composer who inspired her to become a pianist.  Her programs often feature her own classical arrangements of her beloved countryman’s music, alongside works of Debussy and the Viennese classical repertoire.

Katie’s greatest pianistic influence came from her studies with the celebrated French pianist Pascal Rogé, with whom she studied the music of the French Impressionists. Rogé – who traces his musical heritage directly back to the great French tradition of Debussy and Ravel – was not only an important pianistic influence on Katie, but also inspired her to devote years of study to the search for understanding of French music, art and stylistic tradition.

Since making her orchestral debut in 1999 performing Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Breckenridge Symphony, Katie has appeared in concert throughout the USA, Europe, Canada, the Middle East, Russia and Japan. She has performed with such celebrated conductors as Jiri Belohlavek, Marin Alsop, Grant Cooper, and Lawrence Leighton-Smith, among others, and in such famous halls as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Prinzregenten Theatre in Munich, the great hall of the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow, and the Smetana Hall in Prague.

Katie’s extensive discography includes solo repertoire from Mozart to Bernstein. In 2020, she released Appassionata on the Steinway & Sons label, a highly acclaimed album of Beethoven bagatelles and sonatas​​​​​.  Her album Classical Gershwin, a CD + DVD set which includes an innovative music video of Gershwin’s beloved Rhapsody in Blue was released on  Steinway & Sons in November 2019, and together with her Debussy CD Clair de lune, which has been praised as “a program to revel in and relish” (Fanfare Magazine), was selected by Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, and Austrian Airlines to be presented on their in-flight entertainment programs on flights all over the world. Katie’s most significant recording to date, the Complete Solo Piano Music of Leonard Bernstein, was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2018 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth, and in 2017 she also recorded an all-Gershwin LP for the Berliner Meister Schallplatten label’s Direct-to-disc format. In addition to her CD releases, Katie is committed to finding new ways to bring younger audiences to classical music through multimedia, and is in the process of producing a series of innovative video projects to accompany upcoming CD releases.

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.