Mozart
This is a spectacular program devoted to Mozart's solo piano music that, frankly, reminds the listener of very little of Mozart's other solo piano music. The A minor Sonata is a troubling work: nervous and unsettled in the first movement, seemingly relaxed in the Andante which then takes an unexpectedly dark turn, and with a finale which defines "anxious." The Rondo, K. 511, is one of Mozart's most gorgeous--and saddest--works, a 10-minute meditation. A little minute-and-a-half gigue is Bachian; the March, K. 408, is brief and melodic, and the concluding Sonata, K. 533 in F Major, is at first a contrapuntal challenge, then a seeming improvisation, and lastly a dainty start with a theatrical finish. Richard Goode, one of the least sentimental pianists on the planet, still manages to get all of the composer's emotional points and changes across vividly--this is playing of the highest order. A must for any collection.--Robert Levine