Mozart Piano Sonata No. 11, Piano Concertos Nos. 12 and 18

Kraus, Lili

Not Tickling, but Caressing, the Ivories

Describing the middle (Minuet) movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11, musicologist Eric Blom singles out its "frail, wistful quality," which he says "makes it as haunting a piece of romantic piano music as anything one can think of in Schumann or Chopin." That's quite an accomplishment, considering that Mozart wrote this well before the dawn of the Romantic era, and about fifty years before those guys began composing.

To experience every disconsolate breath of Mozart's forward-looking marvel, seek out this recording made in the 1950s by Hungarian pianist Lili Kraus (1903–1986). Of the gazillions of pianists who have recorded Mozart, few possess the sensitivity of phrasing and touch that's on display here. Kraus establishes herself from the very beginning of the sonata, with a breezy and unfussy statement of the opening music-box theme that seems to waft from the piano, leaving just the faint outline of a firm attack. Later, as the piece unfolds, the passagework becomes the pianistic equivalent of the hundred-yard dash; even here Kraus doesn't seem to be laboring—her touch is so light, her phrases so crisply turned out, all that hangs around is the music itself. Kraus's transparent approach is fully on display in the middle movement, where the pace slows and there's less clever ornamentation. As she winds through thickets of bunched-up notes, she caresses each just a bit, coaxing from it directions to the next one. In this methodical way, she uncovers the rhapsodic qualities of the piece.

Kraus's unassuming tone defines the two concertos, which are from Mozart's torrid earlier years. These pieces are both striking for their focus: Where later works explore nuances and shades of gray, these are fixated on a single emotion, which Mozart sets out in the initial theme and then develops in the variations. That forces the pianist to provide the colorations and points of emphasis, and Kraus doesn't disappoint: Using sparkling articulations, she illuminates small details in imperceptibly slight, sometimes miraculous, ways. She plays with supreme confidence, treating Mozart as a puzzle master, a keeper of secrets. Her job is to find them, and when she does, she shines light on them and slinks gracefully out of the way, so that listeners can be as awed by Mozart's genius as she is.

Genre: Classical
Released: 2004, Urania
Key Tracks: Sonata No. 11: second movement. Concerto No. 12: first movement. Concerto No. 18: second movement.
Another Interpretation: The Piano Sonatas, Mitsuko Uchida
Catalog Choice: Kraus: Mozart Solo Keyboard Works
Next Stop: Arcadi Volodos: Volodos Plays Liszt
Book Pages: 434–435