Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas Vol. 4 (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Piano Sonata in F Major, No. 2, K.280; Piano Sonata in C Major, No. 1, K.279; Piano Sonata in D Major, No. 6, K.284,”Dürnitz.” Orli Shaham, piano. Canary Classics CC23

The Israeli-born American pianist Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series and Artistic Director of the interactive children's concert series, Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard. She is also a co-host of the national radio program From the Top and is on faculty at The Juilliard School. We have reviewed several previous releases by Ms. Shaham in Classical Candor – all featuring music by Mozart – including a disc of piano concertos reviewed here by John Puccio and Volumes Nos. 1-3 of the piano sonatas, which I reviewed here. Although I had found those first three volumes to enjoyable, I was not quite prepared for what I heard when I auditioned this release, which feature three of Mozart’s earliest sonatas.  

 

These three works have a freshness and sparkle that are captivating from start to finish. From the very first notes, the music just draws you right in. The liner notes offer an explanation of why this is so: “Mozart didn’t start out a household name. As a young musician, he traveled widely and — like any good traveling salesman — needed samples to show off to prospective patrons. So, during a journey to Munich in 1774–1775, he wrote six ‘calling cards’ to play at the homes of potential benefactors. Three of these calling cards — the sonatas K. 280, K. 279, and K. 284 — form this disc. What Mozart could do was in many ways the cutting edge of composition and keyboard technique. He was an early adopter of technology, writing for newly invented instruments and experimenting with any innovation that could be used to artistic effect… Even on a standard keyboard, he never stopped exploring: How many different kinds of sounds — rich and plaintive, loud and soft, long and short, question and answer, excitement and heartbreak — can I make on this keyboard? Can I make a piece sound improvised? Can I draw people in with pauses (Sonata in F, K. 280)? Can I write a theme that isn’t really a melody (Sonata in C, K. 279)? Why not try a final movement of variations, instead of a rondo (Sonata in D, K. 284, ‘Dürnitz’)?”

 

Where Mozart’s later sonatas sometimes seem to must flow along elegantly and serenely, these have a nervous energy about them, a invoking a feeling of unpredictability that makes them seem more original and involving than some of his later music. You can close your eyes and imagine Mozart at the keyboard being a bit of a showman. No, these are not the keyboard pyrotechnics of a Liszt or Rachmaninoff, but within the constraints of the classical idiom in which he was working, Mozart wrote himself some music that really does grab the listener’s attention. Orli Shaham is certainly up to the demands of playing the music with finesse and flair, and as usual with this series, the engineering is excellent. Volume 5 should be released later in 2023 to complete the project.