For Khatia Buniatishvilli Mozart veers between the 'overwhelming and simple, and is a unexpected as the twists of a labyrinth.' Singling out the central Adagio from K.488 she finds music that makes words ,'cede into silence.' And turning to her performances, played and directed by herself, you find her relishing the sharp contrast between the drama of K .466 in D minor(one of only two Piano Concertos in the minor key) and the radiant outer movements of K.488. In both Concertos you hear a pianist refining her sometimes engulfing technique in the romantic virtuoso repertoire to stylish and acute effect. There is fleetness and ebullience in the A major Concerto's finale, with a race to the finishing post as apt as it is exhilarating. Her response to the aforementioned Adagio could be thought over-expressed, yet it is true and heartfelt, while in K.466 her dexterity is used to optimum musical advantage. Her entry in the opening Allegro may be understated but it leads to an acute sense of Mozart's turbulence. Her scurrying tempo in the finale, again, sets everything on edge and I am left to wonder at such an unfailing unity of technique and musical quality.
Fo her encore, as it were, Buniatishvilli chooses the 'Sonata facile' showing a special response to alternating innocense and piquancy. Her poise and affection in the central Andante, in particular makes me look ahead to more Mozart from this, perhaps unexpected source.
Bryce Morrison