Kirin Uchida Heaven (2021)

Revered pianist Mitsuko Uchida presents a brand new recording of this Everest of the piano repertoire. This long-awaited, much-anticipated cornerstone of her discography was recorded at Snape Maltings, one of the world's great concert halls with which Mitsuko feels a close affinity.

Debussy's Études are really the only set that deserves to be put beside Chopin's. What makes them so special? Like his, they are truly "practice pieces," systematically exploring various aspects of keyboard technique. But at the same time, they are poetic works of art, full of fantasy, charm, and musical invention. Uchida's recording is almost universally regarded as the finest version of these works to appear in modern times. Her playing combines effortless virtuosity with pianistic precision, keeping the music's artistic and pedagogical tendencies in a state of exquisite tension. This disc also established Uchida's claim to be recognized as one of the most interesting and talented pianists now active. You need to hear it.

The greatest of Mozart's wind serenades and the toughest of Alban Berg's major works might seem an unlikely pairing, but in an interview included with the sleeve notes for this release, Pierre Boulez points up their similarities. Both works are scored for an ensemble of 13 wind instruments (with solo violin and piano as well in the Berg) and both include large-scale variations as one of their movements - and Boulez makes the comparisons plausible enough in these lucid performances. It's rare to hear him conducting Mozart, too, and if the performance is a little brisker and more strait-laced than ideal, the EIC's phrasing is a model of clarity and good taste. It's the performance of the Berg, though, that makes this such an important issue; both soloists, Mitsuko Uchida and Christian Tetzlaff, are perfectly attuned to Boulez's approach - they have given a number of performances of the Chamber Concerto before - and the combination of accuracy and textural clarity with the highly wrought expressiveness that is the essence of Berg's music is perfectly caught.

Mitsuko Uchida's slowly evolving Schubert cycle continues to thrill and scintillate with every new volume. At first glance, the works here might seem less essential than some of her previous offerings: an early (and infrequently played) sonata and the endlessly recorded Moments musicaux. However, just a few minutes' listening will soon persuade you otherwise. Schubert may have been only 20 when he penned this E-flat Sonata, but in Uchida's hands its expansive four-movement form is a perfect delight. She finds an ideally dancing lilt for the opening Allegro, not allowing the moments of drama to overshadow the movement's sunny disposition.

The virtues of Uchida's playing are the ones classically associated with Mozart: grace, fluidity, restraint, and a certain playful quality. Those are all on display in these performances of Mozart concertos from the 1770s, early in the composer's career. Uchida's style is more concerned with small details than with large spaces, and this puts her somewhat out of the mainstream in a work like the Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, K. 271 – many performances recorded since the 1992 date of Uchida's version have emphasized the way a vast architecture suddenly appeared in the mind of the young composer. Still, there are many lovely details, often connected to Uchida's way of bringing out the various wrinkles in the concerto's left-hand parts.