That Claudio Arrau, 87 this year, still has plenty to tell us about Mozart is not in doubt. What you get out of this disc, however, depends upon the degree of mental reservation you're prepared to allow yourself. In all three pieces you'll find beautiful tonal shading, lovely legato phrasing and fine pedal work- the trouble is that from time to time—and especially in the most recent recording, K280 you'll also find exactly the opposite: relentless passage-work, over-emphasized contours and awkward pedal releases (the loud twang in the slow movement of K280), often accompanied by a mild but unsettling rhythmic unsteadiness. The majesterial shaping of the theme of K280's Adagio is one of many compensating moments—but whether you consider 'moments' enough depends, I imagine, on whether your main interest is Mozart or Arrau.
To put it all into perspective: in Arrau's K311 and K485 the pros really do outweigh the cons the sense of structural conviction is strong and the rhythmic unsteadiness is less troubling, and there isn't the irritating clicking noise which in K280 spoils an otherwise excellent sound-picture. All the same, if you're looking for recordings truly representative of Arrau's golden old age, I'd advise you to go for his Diabelli Variations (5/87) or Emperor Concerto (8/86): awareness of human fallibility is, after all, more appropriate in Beethoven than in Mozart.'