MOZART Piano Sonatas: No. 8 in a, K 310; No. 10 in C, K 330; No. 13 in B♭, K 333. Fantasy in d, K 397. Adagio in b, K 540 • Yoshiko Okada (pn) • GRAMOLA 98838 (76:29)

From the opening phrases of K 333, with which this disc begins, I was captivated by Yoshiko Okada’s nuanced sound and thoughtful musicianship. Her name is new to me, but she has been active internationally for some years, having studied with such noted pianists as Yvonne Loriod and Nikita Magaloff. Her touch is varied, her tone warm, her pedaling judicious, her tempos perfect, and her phrasing pliant. One cannot ask for more, especially when all these things are captured with magnificent recorded sound. Her readings are detailed and refined but they never sound calculated. In the dramatic opening of K 310 she has just the right declamatory tone, and each left-hand chord is balanced with care. The development section moves forward naturally, and in the lyrical slow movement she phrases the melodic lines with a singer’s ear for the purest legato. In the finale she projects subtly different moods within the prevailing sense of urgency. In the first movement of K 330 the recording seems overly close, robbing the music of some of its intimacy, but as piano playing it cannot be faulted. In the Adagio sections of K 397, I would have preferred a less detached left-hand accompaniment, and in K 540 a greater feeling for harmonic tension. But these are small reservations. Okada is a most persuasive Mozartean and I would place her interpretations of the three sonatas alongside the exceptional ones by Uchida and Pires. I look forward to future recordings by this gifted and imaginative young pianist.

FANFARE: Charles Timbrell