As with this series’ previous nine volumes, Siegbert Rampe programs familiar and obscure Mozart keyboard music in interesting juxtapositions, dividing the works among clavichord, harpsichord, and fortepiano. Those who’ve followed Rampe’s Mozart up to this point will not be surprised to find the keyboardist going hog wild with ornaments and embellishments upon repeats, especially on the clavichord. Listen, for example, to the K. 279 C major sonata’s outer movements, where percussive noises accompany note attacks as if a flamenco dancer had sneaked into the recording studio, together with the funkiest pitch bending I’ve heard since the Mini-Moog’s heyday.
On fortepiano, Rampe’s affetuoso inflections sound a bit “much” in the K. 353 variations, yet judicious timing and fluidity characterize his expressive flexibility in the B minor Adagio. Rampe saves his (relatively) straightest interpretations for the harpsichord, bringing welcome vigor and rhythmic pomp to the youthful K. 11 sonata, the D major Clavierstück, and the K. 460 variations fragment. The sonics lack impact and detail, but still convey what these instruments sound like in a small venue.
