Mozart's Piano Sonatas through the eyes of Alfred Einstein - Part 9 (K. 332)

For Einstein, the Sonata in F, K. 332, is one of Mozart's most personal creations. He composed it in the summer of 1778 at Paris, and it is indeed one of his best known works. 

"The charm of this sonata-beginning lies in the fact that it is not like a beginning, but like a second theme, lyrical and songful, as if fallen from heaven. It is followed by an after-section that is like a lovely sound of nature, with the horn-like fifths in the left hand, and only then by what analytical editions call the 'epilogue' - a menacing section in D minor, full of the tension of the minor, out of which the second theme unfurls like a luminous phenomenon. Idea springs from idea; the development section again begins with a new, 'unthematic' theme, and in the recapitulation the whole 'energyless' succession is repeated on a new plane of enchanting loveliness. No one can fathom how one melodic  blossom is connected with another in this movement. Yet everyone will feel their naturalness and necessity, and the inevitability of their growth. Nor is anything to be gained here by searching for a model, for none will be found, either in Germany, or in Italy, or in Paris".

Here is the Sonata in F major, K. 332, performed by Maria Joao Pires - a pianist I really admire. (the sound quality is rather poor, I am afraid).