MOZART Piano Sonatas K281, 283, 333 & 576

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Genre:

Instrumental

Label: Oehms

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 79

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: OC1856

OC1856. MOZART Piano Sonatas K281, 283, 333 & 576

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Sonata for Piano No. 3 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
William Youn, Piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Sonata for Piano No. 5 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
William Youn, Piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Sonata for Piano No. 13 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
William Youn, Piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Sonata for Piano No. 18 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
William Youn, Piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
William Youn is a pianist of great sensitivity, as previous reviewers of his Mozart sonata cycle have noted (5/14). But more than that, he is a Mozartian of complete naturalness, which is no mean feat. He offers a beguiling reading of K281, its closing rondo given due playfulness.

He’s notably gentle in the opening movement of the G major Sonata, K283, in terms of both touch and tempo. That does, however, mean the contrasting octave passage is slightly undercharacterised compared to Uchida and Hamelin, both faster and suitably military-sounding in that passage. However, I have no argument with Youn’s slow movement, which lets the music unfold with complete inevitability, Marc-André Hamelin sounding a tad self-conscious by comparison; in the finale, though, the French-Canadian’s easy virtuosity is exquisite, alongside which Youn sounds a little more cautious.

Youn imbues K333’s Allegro first movement with a pleasing lilt, though I find others more compelling as the music takes a darker turn in the development. Andreas Haefliger is particularly fine here, reacting with great agitation before good humour is restored. But Youn is once again eloquently poised in the Andante cantabile and his way with the finale, playful but with occasional darker undertones, is also finely done, though compared to Alfred Brendel’s deliciously tart reading Youn’s sounds just a tad uncomplicated. For my taste, K576’s opening Allegro is a little too soft-edged – the dissonances in its first-movement development sounding a tad mild (Uchida really nails these), but I like the exuberance of his finale, which is strong and self-confident. He gets the contrast between the extrovert and the tiptoeing elements compellingly, and the throwaway ending is just so.

Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music. 

Stream on Presto Music | Buy from Presto Music

Gramophone Print

  • Print Edition

From £6.67 / month

Subscribe

Gramophone Digital Club

  • Digital Edition
  • Digital Archive
  • Reviews Database
  • Full website access

From £8.75 / month

Subscribe

                              

If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.