Mitsuko Uchida - Mozart: Sonatas KV 331 & KV 332, Fantasia KV 397 (1984)

One could argue that K 331 in A Major is Mozart’s greatest piano sonata. Unlike Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, it has never been a victim of its own success (when taken as a whole). Against all odds, much of the manuscript was found in Budapest in 2014 – so reports that it was last seen on the Mount of Olives being zapped upwards into the sky can be ignored. Unless your name is Glenn Ghoul, K 331 invites serenity, joy and not a little friskiness where the sheer energy of the finale takes one to a realm far beyond the Bosphorus. K 332 is a claimant to the throne. Prithee, what is a wit of an Oscar Wilde compared with this embarrassment of riches – and the finale in particular? As one listens on enviously, thoughts of being a proxy are soon dispelled by the ghost of James McNeill Whistler: “You will, listener, you will!”

Uchida’s cycle of Mozart’s piano sonatas propelled her into undying orbit. This was the first recording in the series: the two sonatas in question and the Fantasy in D Minor K 397. The sound is fabulous. With no apologies whatsoever to Edwin Fischer, Wilhelm Backhaus, Ingrid Haebler or Lang Lang (sic), this is my favourite K 331 on the market. It’s just so lovable and played with such wonder! Uchida’s account of K 332 is less tyrannous on competitors (here, Haebler is at her best). Even so, Aunty Mitsuko captures its exuberance and the valediction of its slow movement. As Mozart lands perfectly on his feet in the final few bars of the finale, Uchida follows suit in dexterity. K 397 is an apt makeweight: Per ardua ad astra.