How do you make the fast scales in KV 545 sound more crisp?

[pascalxus]

I noticed when the pros play Sonata KV 545, at allegro, those scales sound beautiful and so crisp.

When i play them with the metronome, especially when I play them fast, they sound a bit legato and almost mushy.  So, how do you make it more crisp?  is it just a matter of more practice?

And on those parts where you play the left hand: 3121 3121, 2131, 4131.
how do you make the left hand not sound like it's drumming?  I know voicing the left hand much quieter helps quite a bit.  but is there more to it than that?  those should be a bit more legato right?

[anacrusis]

That kind of crisp, "pearly" playing comes from releasing each key more quickly - a bit like staccato only not really staccato. Practise with each finger, press down a key, and then let the key push your finger up again by relaxing the muscles that are making the finger hold the key down. If you can press down a key and immediately let the key push the finger up again, and then do this quickly in succession with multiple fingers (playing a scale for example) it'll sound pearly.

[quantum]

Adding to what anacrusis said above, the pearly sound gives the impression of both legato, plus lightness and crispness without physically connecting each note to its neighbour.  One places a space between notes to achieve this sound.  It can seem counter intuitive to not connect notes that you may wish to sound legato, but it is the overall sound that the ear perceives as legato.

Josh Wright has done a number of videos on the pearly sound.

This one has a K 545 excerpt near the end.

[lelle]

Basically, play as if you are playing legato, listen for legato phrasing, but disconnect the notes the way anacrusis described