Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano), Harmonia Mundi HMU 907497

Kristian Bezuidenhout is one of those players who can shock as well as enthrall. In the four works which open his new Mozart survey (the Fantasy C minor, K457, the Sonatas in F K533/K494 and B flat K470, and Variations on

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) he handles a Derek Adlam copy of a 1790s Anton Walter Viennese fortepiano with the keenest understanding of the instrument’s capabilities. He shows the kind of internal clarity that prompts the adjective limpid.

He makes effective use of the cushioned tonal contrasts of the una corda pedal. And he’s not in the least shy about mostly tasteful spontaneous embellishment of the printed text. But his interest in the spur of the moment does lead to a use of rubato that can sound downright arbitrary. Sample before you buy.

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