The cover picture and those inside the notes for this Mozart recital by pianist
Richard Goode are an excellent visual representation of the performance. The setting of a high-ceiling, tall-windowed room with an open floor suitable for dancing reflects the gracefulness, and at times elegance, of
Goode's playing. The brief Courante and Gigue hark back to the Baroque and the stylized dances of Bach, and even the March is more refined than martial. The emptiness of the room reflects
Goode's highly personal way of playing. There is an intimacy in his sound, which makes the drama in the Sonatas and the Rondo understated, but earnest. The slow movements of the Sonatas are played to an audience of one. The Rondo in particular has a lonely sound to it. It's melancholy and the somewhat ominous opening of the Sonata in A minor, K. 310, are represented by the sizeable shadows that dominate the photos. Mozart rarely used the minor, and even with the skillful and smooth touch
Goode has, that movement has a darkness that cannot be dispelled. However, as always in Mozart's music, there are moments of lightness that shine through, and
Goode makes sure to give these the proper polish.