‘Mozart 225’ packs all his music – Williams sees Take That reunion

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‘Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition’ (Decca and Deutsche Grammophon)

What measures 11 inches square and 7 inches high, weighs 21 1/2 pounds and takes 10 days and nights to play?

Answer: A new box set jam-packed with 200 CDs that contains every note composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in his short 35 years of life.

Just in time for the 225th anniversary of the composer’s death on Dec 5, Decca and Deutsche Grammophon have combined forces to issue this compilation, mind-boggling in its thoroughness and admirable in its scholarly depth. There are other “Complete Mozart” sets on the market, but this one has fair claim to boast that it’s “completer” than the rest.

Talk about your embarrassment of riches! Chronologically, the compilation starts with Mozart’s first known compositions, two fragmentary Andantes in C major for harpsichord lasting 17 seconds and 14 seconds respectively, written in 1761 when he was 5 years old. It ends with his Requiem, left unfinished at his death in 1791.

In between are not just all 27 piano concertos, 41 symphonies, every opera, song and sonata, but many alternate versions, fragments, arrangements of music by Handel and Bach and even works whose authorship is in dispute.

Of particular historical interest is the world premiere recording of a recently discovered “lost song” that Mozart apparently composed in collaboration with Antonio Salieri. Written in 1785, Mozart’s contribution to “Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia” (“For the recovered health of Ophelia”) consists of just two stanzas lasting under a minute and a half. But the elegantly simple tune is instantly recognizable as the work of the composer.

New

Among the extras packed into the sturdy box are five collector’s prints of Mozart autograph scores, the last-known portrait and a letter to his father. There are also two hardcover books — a new biography of the composer and a work-by-work commentary — plus a booklet presenting the numbering of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation’s forthcoming new edition of the Kochel catalog of Mozart’s works.

There is so much material here it would take weeks or months to survey thoroughly. And the suggested retail price tag of $479.98 means a significant financial commitment. Definitely not for the casual listener, but for serious Mozart lovers it’s a treasure trove.

Pop star Robbie Williams said on Monday he would join his former Take That bandmates for a reunion “at some point” but it was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Williams left the chart-topping five-member boy band, known for hits such as “Relight My Fire” and “Everything Changes”, in 1995, embarking on a hugely successful solo career.

The group disbanded in 1996 and reunited a decade later as a foursome and Williams joined them for the 2010 album “Progress”. In 2017, the group – now only three-strong — marks 25 years since the release of debut album “Take That & Party”.

Take That tours Britain next year and, when asked at a news conference if he could join them as a surprise when they play in Manchester, the city where they formed in 1990, Williams said: “It might happen, who knows, but right now I don’t think so.”

“Reunion at some point definitely but we just couldn’t get our diaries to work in the next 12 months.”

The “Let Me Entertain You” and “Angels” singer, who has just released a new album “The Heavy Entertainment Show” has announced a new European tour next year.

Joined by synthpop duo Erasure, the 42-year-old will play 29 shows in 18 countries starting in Britain in June.

“It’s (the tour) still work in progress — (country singer) Garth Brooks says that an audience needs seven wows for a show … I’m currently working on my seven wows,” he said.

His upcoming UK shows will take place around the same time as the major Glastonbury music festival in southwest England. Asked about playing there, he said: “If they ask me, I’d do it but I don’t think it’s going to be happening next year.”

Presented

Williams, who has a record 17 BRIT awards — Britain’s top music awards — under his belt is being presented with another accolade, the BRITs Icon Award, whose previous recipients include Elton John and the late David Bowie. He will put on a one-off show in London later on Monday to celebrate.

“The other two people were absolute legends and absolute icons and now I’m getting it and have mixed feelings,” Williams said. “But … I am honoured to be receiving it.”

Lorde, the New Zealand singer who enjoyed phenomenal success while still a teenager, celebrated her 20th birthday Monday by announcing a new album that will explore becoming an adult.

The long-awaited follow-up to her blockbuster 2013 debut album “Pure Heroine” will be out soon, she said, without giving a date.

“Writing ‘Pure Heroine’ was my way of enshrining our teenage glory, putting it up in lights forever so that part of me never dies, and this record — well, this one is about what comes next,” she wrote on Facebook around midnight in New York, where she has been recording the album.

Turning 20, “I’m not a kid any more, and more and more I’m realizing that the weirdness of those Mylar balloons is going to be okay,” she added, referring to the shiny balloons given for celebrations.

Having written songs since age 13, Lorde became an international sensation with her song “Royals,” a mocking look at the pursuit of material wealth that won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 2014.

Lorde, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O’Connor, has managed to avoid the excesses and tabloid headline-generating lifestyle that are notorious among child stars.

She made “a very deliberate choice to withdraw from public life” over the past year, she wrote, and enjoyed the greater anonymity for the most part.

“I started to discover in a profound, scary, blood-aching way who I was when I was alone, what I did when I did things only for myself.”

Saying little about her forthcoming album, Lorde boasted its lyrics were “the best I’ve written in my life.”

“The party is about to start,” she wrote. “I am about to show you the new world.”

Also:

LOS ANGELES: American rapper Jeezy edged past country veteran Kenny Chesney to take the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart on Monday with his new release “Trap or Die 3.”

According to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, Jeezy’s album sold some 89,000 copies in its first week, less than 1,000 more than Chesney’s “Cosmic” at 88,000.

In a closely fought race for the top spot, rapper Meek Mill’s “DC4” landed at No. 3 in its debut week, with 87,000 copies.

The Billboard 200 album chart tallies units from album sales, song sales (10 songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams equal one album).

The new releases pushed Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” off last week’s top spot and back into 5th place.

In the digital songs chart, which measures online single sales, The Chainsmokers’ catchy pop single “Closer,” featuring Halsey, continued its hold at No. 1 for a 13th non-consecutive week, selling 71,000 copies.

By Mike Silverman

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