Following last year’s solo recital, accompanied by the perennially stylish Academy of St Martin in the Fields, pianist Khatia Bhuniatishvili returns for two strongly contrasted Mozart concertos.
Troubled and troubling, Mozart’s D minor Piano Concerto leans into the same glowering unease that would stalk his smouldering Overture to Don Giovanni two years later. The A major Concerto on the other hand can’t help smiling and dispenses sunshine as well as reassurance ahead of Haydn’s effervescent symphonic farewell to his time in London.
More usually associated with the likes of Liszt, Rachmaninov, and the romantic repertoire, the Georgian-born, Paris-based pianist turns her attention to the confiding classicism of Mozart. Bringing to bear a characteristic individuality, she possesses, says Gramophone, ‘a compelling stage presence, a warm glowing tone, and strongly expressed ideas’.