COMPOSERS: Schubert
LABELS: NAIVE
ALBUM TITLE: Paul Lewis
WORKS: Schubert: Moments Musicaux (6), D780, Op. 94 Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D894
PERFORMER: Paul Lewis (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: DR 2102
Of nearly 90 pianists who took part in the 2002 La Roque d’Anthéron International Piano Festival in Provence, eight gave short recitals (from one hour to 90 minutes) filmed live in partnership with Idéale Audience International. Later the films were shown theatrically, and are now brought out by Naïve as individual DVD releases.
Paul Lewis’s highly touted artistry yields considerable rewards. Of the six Moments musicaux, note Lewis’s impetuous, alluringly voiced accounts of Nos 1, 2, 5 and 6. The big D894 G major Sonata’s last movement gets bogged down in detail as it progresses (Lewis looks as if he’s working harder than he needs to), but his flowing, well-sustained treatment of the first three movements makes the music appear less extended than it can often seem.