Once a rarity, there are now several Mozart piano sonata cycles available, ranging dramatically in approach from classical poise and precision to Beethovenian outbursts of lacerating power. Yet for Japanese rising star Mao Fujita, it is less a question of general style as searching for the meaning behind the notes. “Out of interest, I listened to various Mozart sonata performances,” he tells Apple Music, “but I feel my recording has a quite different perspective to any other. I wanted to project my interpretations with a strong sense of confidence. Each sonata has a completely different character, with its own unique story and background, and it was this individuality that I wanted to convey.” Listening to Mao’s Mozart, with its sparkling textures, sprightly articulation, remarkable technical poise, luminous textural clarity, and infectiously flowing tempos, it is little wonder he created such a sensation when he performed the series live at the 2021 Verbier Festival. Sony Classical was so impressed, they offered him an exclusive contract there and then, and took the unprecedented step of recording the complete cycle in Berlin for his debut release. Even in the most famous movement of all, the indelible “Alla Turca” from the Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331, Mao brings a sense of tingling freshness, as if he’s discovering its special qualities for the very first time. Turn to the searingly dramatic Sonata No. 14 in C Minor, K. 457, and he imbues the music with a sense of Mozart pushing the expressive boundaries and relatively primitive pianos of his time to their outer limits. “Many people still think that Mozart is a fun person, full of brightness,” he points out, “but actually, he had a highly complex personality. Some of his pieces are admittedly upbeat and breezy, but others, like the Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor, K. 310, are incredibly dark and possess an ominous sense of struggle. It was my aim to bring the many facets of his creative world to life in every one of his 18 sonatas.”