Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Complete Piano Sonatas - Volume 1
Sonata No. 3 in B flat major, K281 (1775) [18:45]
Sonata No. 13 in B flat major, K333 (1783) [27:39]
Sonata No. 17 in B flat major, K570 (1789) [20:53]
Orli Shaham (piano)
Rec. 2019, Mechanics Hall, Worcester, USA
CANARY CLASSICS CC19 [67:17]
Orli Shaham’s brother is the world-renowned violinist Gil, so it’s fair to assume that their childhood performances at home to family and friends were rather a cut above the norm. While her profile is not as high as her brother’s, she has a growing discography across a range of genres and styles, but Mozart seems to be a recurring theme, this being the fourth release that I can see. The previous was a concerto disc, accompanied by husband David Robertson (review).
Mozart’s piano sonatas – there are 18 with numbers plus some very early ones – don’t get the attention that his concertos do, but given the miraculous nature of several of the concertos, that’s hardly surprising. That said, ArkivMusic’s database shows that even the least recorded of the numbered sonatas – 1, 6 & 7 – have in excess of 40 entries each. So Orli Shaham and Canary Classics are wading into a rather crowded space with this first volume of a proposed complete set.
Choosing three sonatas with the same key signature is an interesting decision and it could have led to a certain sameness. However, this is Mozart and he imbues the three works, written over a span of fourteen years, with plenty of contrast. K281 has distinct Haydn qualities, K333 is a showpiece, and K570 a mature masterpiece. Shaham adopts a very consistent approach across the three works: a clarity which to me felt as though she was wanting to make her Steinway sound more like the smaller scale instruments of Mozart’s era. There is quite a degree of percussiveness in the sound, a limited dynamic range. The booklet notes quote Mozart in a letter to his father discussing the merits of the Stein instrument: “When I strike hard, I can keep my finger on the note or raise it, but the sound ceases the moment I have produced it.” I hear that very clearly – pun intended – in Orli Shaham’s playing. I did find this slightly wearing over the full expanse of the three works, but within an individual piece, I certainly appreciated the merits.
I don’t have a large collection of these sonatas to make comparisons with. Clearly I could have found plenty of examples on streaming services, but I felt the classic Mitsuko Uchida set on Philips, which I do own, was sufficient. There is a very big difference between the two, and that’s not just that Shaham takes all repeats where Uchida does not. Uchida has a more poetic, dare I say Romantic, approach, compared to Shaham’s more straightforward and crisp way. Uchida provides more variety in the sound and phrasings, greater tenderness in places, which leads to more overall contrast.
The booklet notes differ from the usual in that they do not simply address one work after another. Instead, the background to the three works is blended into a narrative about Mozart’s sonatas, quoting Orli Shaham here and there. The sound is very bright, and this may contribute to the degree of weariness mentioned earlier.
My preference is undoubtedly for Uchida, but I do appreciate what Orli Shaham is setting out to achieve, and I think that she does it very well. Her performances should be heard by those who love these works, and I think this has the makings of a good series.
David Barker
