The two final instalments of Orli Shaham’s Mozart piano sonata cycle match the stylish intelligence, pianistic refinement and splendid sound of their predecessors. In my review of Vol 4, for example, I wrote how Shaham’s boundlessly varied articulations and large portfolio of inflections enlivened Mozart’s harmonic sleights of hand and dramatic inferences. That certainly applies to the Allegro con spirito of the C major Sonata, K309, where the pianist ever so slightly varies the left-hand Alberti bass dynamics on repeated phrases. The precision of her dotted rhythms in the Andante’s right-hand cantilenas is vocally orientated, in contrast to Angela Hewitt’s instrumental evocations (Hyperion). Shaham’s concluding Rondeau defines lightness and crispness, replete with humorously timed grace notes.

In the D major Sonata, K311, the Allegro con spirito is as clear as crystal but borders on the foursquare next to Roberto Prosseda’s humorous dry-point repartee between the hands (Decca). However, she compensates with a central Andante con espressione that matches the poised classicism of Walter Gieseking’s memorable 1953 EMI recording. She approaches the Rondeau less forthrightly than many pianists, holding back on certain cadences in a way that convincingly conveys hidden uncertainty beneath the music’s joyful surface.

Shaham’s C major Sonata, K330, is one of her cycle’s high points, where her imaginative ornamentation, fresh phrasings and impeccably judged timing justify her observation of each and every repeat. Nor is she afraid to open up her dynamic and sonorous palette and take tasteful advantage of her concert grand’s expressive potential, as her expansive and well-sustained Andante in the F major Sonata, K533/494, bears out. Perhaps her supple sculpting of the same sonata’s Rondo lacks some of the magical music-box-like patina of Alfred Brendel’s valedictory recording (Decca), but she makes subtle timbral adjustments in accordance with the opening Allegro’s modulatory surprises. In this context, Shaham’s meticulously detailed and mindfully mapped out pacing throughout the C minor Sonata, K457, seems relatively careful and studio-bound, especially when heard alongside the blood and thunder of Claudio Arrau’s intense live 1956 Salzburg Festival performance (Orfeo) or Lili Kraus’s unsettling angularity (Sony). She also does not include the C minor Fantasia, K475, which often precedes the Sonata. These quibbles, however, do not detract from this release’s overall excellence. Donald Rosenberg’s excellent booklet notes offer a vivid behind-the-scenes portrait of Shaham’s Mozartian journey.

Mozart ‘Complete Sonatas, Vols 5 & 6’

Piano Sonatas – No 7 in C, K309; No 9 in D, K311; No 10 in C, K330; No 14 in C minor, K457; No 15 in F, K533/494

Orli Shaham pf

Canary Classics CC24 (2 CDs)

This review originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of International Piano. Never miss an issue – subscribe today