The Lithuanian-born/London-based pianist Indré Petrauskaité’s Mozart interpretations feature symmetrical phrasing and multi-hued detaché articulation that is sophisticated to the point of occasional fussiness. In the K. 310 Rondo and K. 475 Molto allegro, for example, her fancy dynamic tapering pulls focus from the music’s underlying drama and operatic sensibility. The D minor Fantasie’s overphrased cantabiles similarly trivialize the harmonic tension that Mozart’s chromaticism generates.
At first Petrauskaité’s liltingly trite approach to the A minor Rondo K. 511 misses the music’s aching point, yet her sound and expressive palette gradually open up as the music unfolds. Not so, however, regarding her animated and overly clipped B minor Adagio K. 540; even Vladimir Horowitz’s colorfully headlong approach more palpably taps into the music’s depth and repose. It must be said that Petrauskaité’s immaculate control of the instrument enables her to realize her conceptions to the nth degree, and helps sustain attention throughout 80 minutes’ worth of works in minor keys. Avie’s gorgeous engineering certainly helps.
