The Piano Sonatas

"This seventh volume in the Brilliant Classics complete Mozart edition includes the complete piano sonatas, some of Mozart's best-loved music, played by the Hungarian pianist, Klára Würtz. While Würtz is a very competent pianist, something is lacking in these performances.

Mozart's earliest piano sonatas are deceptively simple. As Robert W. Gutman says in his 'Mozart', "Spare in texture, limpid, and discreet, [they] flee the clouds and seek the open. For this they pay a price when in the hands of a less than sensitive performer: then they appear impoverished in character…" This is indeed what comes through in this performance. While they are well-played, they lack the sensitivity necessary to take them to a higher plane. Würtz plays the notes, but does not play the feelings. There is nothing wrong with her interpretation; they just do not go far enough.

Klára Würtz negotiates all of the difficulties very well, from the virtuoso prestos, such as that of the G major sonata KV 283, to the complex runs and ornaments of the adagio of the B flat major sonata KV 570. Her skills are obvious, but nothing seems to gel, and the music does not take on its own individuality.

The sound on these recordings has a bit too much reverb, and the piano used does not sound quite right. This Steinberg sounds somewhere between a fortepiano and a modern piano, and is lacking in character.

While Klára Würtz's performance is not unforgettable, it is competent. This bargain set is a good way to discover these fine works, but, for truly inspired performances, pianists like Alfred Brendel or Mitsuko Uchida are musically much better."
(MusicWeb Feb 2002)