How did W.A. Mozart (1756–1791) expect his compositions for the piano to sound? What expressive practices did he draw upon to convey character, mood, and meaning? And how does this differ from what is generally heard in performances of his piano music today? These are questions with which pianist Keiko Shichijo valiantly grapples in her ground-breaking interpretations of select works by Mozart presented on this recording. Her programme is centred around three piano sonatas: the “little” Sonata in D major, K311, the Sonata in G major, K283, known for its concision of material, and the darkly brooding Sonata in A minor, K310, often associated with Mozart’s grief at the loss of his mother. Mozart composed or performed these and other sonatas on the tour he undertook from Salzburg to Paris via Munich, Augsburg, and Mannheim between 1777 and 1778, with the purpose of seeking employment. Shichijo’s programme also includes two later works; the popular Fantasia in D minor, K397, which opens, and the highly-chromatic Rondo in A minor, K511 – a sorbet between K283 and K310.