Amazon.comRachel Podger's bracing traversal of Vivaldi's La Stravaganza set of violin concertos are among the finest Baroque recordings, leading to high expectations for more. But here, she and fortepianist Gary Cooper, venture into the more rarified world of Mozart, with considerably less success. They offer four sonatas, to which they apply a roller-coaster interpretive method, swinging from overly slow, sentimentalized Adagios to hyperkinetic fast movements undermined by Podger's uningratiating tone, which is highlighted by the excellent, if close-up recording. Missing in action are the Mozartian elegance and grace at the core of these works. The K.6, written when Mozart was about seven, and the late K.547, a teaching piece he wrote for a pupil, are inflated beyond what they can bear. The K. 378 and K.379 pair, which can take emotionally direct interpretations, are overbearing without the necessary elegance. Podger's fans will want this anyway, but she'd do well to listen carefully to Grumiaux's Mozart before continuing this sonata series. --Dan Davis