Mozart: 2 Sonatas, KV 331 "Alla Turca" & KV332; Fantasie KV 392

内田光子演奏莫扎特2首钢琴奏鸣曲 This was the first CD I'd played in my own study and, with eyes shut, the illusion was complete: Mitsuko Uchida was right there, only a few feet away. The total absence of surface noise, whatever the volume, of course helped most to bring her there. But the naturalness of the piano tone itself, free of any synthetic tang, impressed me no less—in her case a warm, ripe sonority unashamedly that of a modern concert grand. Uchida does not just peck at Mozart. Without loss of simplicity and transparency of style and texture, she leaves no note uncherished, moreover with a left hand just as purposefully expressive as the right. I particularly enjoyed the rich, romantic undertones she draws from the D minor Fantasia, and I'm sure the composer would condone, even welcome, her ending (see RG in the July issue, page 136). In the opening variations of the A major Sonata I wondered if little rhythmic yieldings at important cadence points might in time slightly obtrude. Elsewhere I wondered if she was occasionally inclined to recede from certain points of climax rather than carrying through to their peak. But these are mere quibbles in deeply committed readings that most certainly whet the appetite for more. -- Joan Chissell, Gramophone [9/1984]