Previously available on six single CDs, BIS offers Ronald Brautigam’s Mozart Sonata cycle in one package. While the music easily could have fit on five discs, you still get six for the price of three. It’s wonderfully worth it. To be sure, Brautigam’s Paul McNulty fortepiano (modeled after an Anton-Gabriel Walter instrument circa 1795) doesn’t match the timbral differentiation between registers we often encounter from other fortepianos. It has the advantage, however, of a clear, resonant sound and, praise be, it holds its tuning. Brautigam’s imaginative interpretations capture Mozart’s many moods, from the gallant style of the six earliest sonatas to the tensile drama and operatic leanings of the A minor (K. 310) and C minor Fantasia and Sonata (K. 457 and 475). Sometimes Brautigam’s tapered diminuendos seem a bit arch and unnatural. At least his occasional mannerisms don’t emerge as interpretive tics. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced Mozart Sonata cycle played on a period instrument, look no further. Excellent sound and annotations, too. [12/12/2000]
