COMPOSERS: Schubert
LABELS: Philips Duo
WORKS: Piano Sonata in C minor, D958; Piano Sonata in A, D959; Piano Sonata in B flat, D960; 3 Impromptus, D946
PERFORMER: Alfred Brendel (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 438 703-2 ADD (1972/75)
Several works from Schubert’s final year exhibit extremes of musical expression, and Brendel’s characterisation of these contrasts in the C minor and A major Sonatas, particularly in the music’s disturbed moments, will sound overdone to some. However, beautifully controlled playing in the B flat Sonata reveals an interpretation of these three sonatas as a coherent set. With the Impromptus D946 as fill-up, and Philips’s outstanding 1970s sound, this makes a welcome reissue. Nicholas Rast
Schubert: Piano Sonata in C minor, D958; Piano Sonata in A, D959; Piano Sonata in B flat, D960; 3 Impromptus, D946
Several works from Schubert’s final year exhibit extremes of musical expression, and Brendel’s characterisation of these contrasts in the C minor and A major Sonatas, particularly in the music’s disturbed moments, will sound overdone to some. However, beautifully controlled playing in the B flat Sonata reveals an interpretation of these three sonatas as a coherent set. With the Impromptus D946 as fill-up, and Philips’s outstanding 1970s sound, this makes a welcome reissue. Nicholas Rast
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:32 pm