Mitsuko Uchida - Mozart: 3 Piano Sonatas KV 279, 457 & 576, Fantasia KV 475 (1985)

The Fantasy K 475 and Sonata, K 457 are a modern-day Dioscuri. Something more than mere tonality unites them. In 1990, a safe was opened at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, no less, to reveal the long-lost manuscripts. They frequently appear in concert together.
Here, Uchida fuses them into the one work. The Fantasy, which is a devil to play well, forms a prelude to the Sonata. Uchida's touch is unerring. Both works span an abyss: Uchida bridges them with truth and beauty. But to my mind, the real highlight of this disc is her performance of the first sonata, K 279 in C Major. She imbues the slow movement with "inexhaustible longing" and does so without overstepping its sensibilities. The so-called Trumpet Sonata, K 576, completes the recital. Again, it's masterfully performed. Like the Fantasty, it puts the fear of God into pianists. Uchida plays it with naturalness and not too much legato. If Energy is Eternal Delight, there's nothing more beloved of heaven than its kinetic finale.