As a Mozartean, Christoph Ullrich succeeds in making his modern grand approximate the dynamic and timbral dimensions of a fortepiano, primarily through sustaining notes as much as possible with fingers rather than the pedal. He gets off to a characterful start in the F major KV 332 Allegro, only to archly overarticulate the C major theme (the one that resembles Verdi’s “La donna è mobile”) and its decorated restatement eight bars later. A few tiny smudges in the octaves were left uncorrected. Although I like the idea of Ullrich’s brisk pace and offhanded phrasing in the Adagio, couldn’t it happen without losing the music’s operatic poignancy? Moreover, the tiny speed-ups and slow downs grow a mite predictable as the movement progresses. Several momentary tempo gearshifts and tenutos in the Allegro assai make for a jarring, almost Mengelbergian effect, and they sound even more irritating on the double repeats.
By contrast, a little interpretive graffiti might have enlivened Ullrich’s relatively flat, matter-of-fact reading of the great C minor Fantasia. Among the pianist’s puzzling rhythmic distensions in the KV 533/494 sonata’s opening movement include dragging the first theme and starting the second subject slowly and working it up to tempo. However, Ullrich steadily sings out the Andante with somber restraint and touching expression. The Rondo easily absorbs Ullrich’s emphatic touches and rounded off phrases, and his soft playing at last gains color and body. I still prefer the gorgeous music-box sonority Alfred Brendel evokes in this movement, together with Richard Goode’s lighter, crisper articulation, but Ullrich’s thoughtful, laid-back interpretation convinces on its own terms. File this release under “not essential–but has its moments”.
