Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Fantasia in D minor K 397 (1782)Sonata in D major K 576 (1789)
Sonata in B flat major K 333 (1783)
Sonata in C major K 330 (1783)
Andrea Bacchetti (piano)
rec. live, June 2019, Tokyo Bunka Kalkan (Japan Mozart Society)
Classicvoice 272 [79]

As well as championing rarely heard piano music by the likes of Marcello, Galuppi and Cherubini, Andrea Bacchetti has recorded a good deal of J.S. Bach on labels such as Dynamic and Decca with attractive results. He has also recorded some Mozart concertos, and further solo repertoire recordings from this source might be expected and hopefully more may yet emerge. It should however be noted that this particular release accompanies the Italian classical music magazine ClassicVoice; itis a live recording with accompanying caveats about audience noise and somewhat limited sound quality. Booklet notes are in Italian only.  

The sound here is in fact not too bad, with reasonable dynamic range and a fair sonic balance, if a little distant in terms of perspective. The audience settles down after some opening explosiveness so this aspect could have been worse. The 8:35 timing of the final Allegretto in K 330 includes a full two minutes of applause, but the main issue in general is a very narrow stereo soundstage. Listening on headphones I was trying to work out if this is actually a mono recording, and the sound of the applause did little to dissuade me of this. Over good speakers this is much less of a problem, but this is by no means a Hi-Fi test disc. Set in a fairly resonant acoustic, the piano sound is as I say not bad, just don’t expect glorious close-up studio quality and an immersive 3D spectrum.

Andrea Bacchetti is a skilled Mozart interpreter and, while largely letting the music speak for itself, he can bring out lyrical character as well as putting some grit amongst Mozart’s quasi-dramatic excursions into counterpoint in, for instance, the opening Allegro of K 576. Many of us will have learned the Fantasia K 397 as budding pianists, and Bacchetti makes allowances for Mozart’s pre-Beethoven position on the musical timeline, avoiding overly stormy contrasts while having a good ear for an appropriate amount of operatic theatricality.

Bacchetti’s light touch and transparent textures work very well in all of these sonatas. Phrasing is very fine, and there are few if any mannerisms that are likely to raise eyebrows. It’s a shame that not all of the colour in this playing is conveyed in the recording. Great finesse in something like the opening Allegro of K333 is clearly present, but it takes a certain amount of effort and imagination to perceive it in a recording that tends to flatten everything out. That exquisite Andante at the heart of this sonata has poetry but doesn’t wallow in expressive rubato, and one can imagine this might be how Mozart played it himself. There is always a sense of forward momentum and narrative flow in Bacchetti’s playing which I very much appreciate.

If, as I do, you enjoy Andrea Bacchetti’s playing, then you will surely enjoy the musical qualities in this recording. As a souvenir of a fine recital this is worth considering, but if you are looking for a ‘library choice’ in this repertoire then its live character and limited recording quality count against.

Dominy Clements

Availability: ClassicVoice