Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Ungarische Melodie in b minor, D817 [3:32]
Sonata in G, D894 (Op.78) [36:20]
Six Moments musicaux, D780 (Op.94) [27:19]
Allegretto in c minor, D915 [4:56]
Four Impromptus, D935 (Op.142) [34:24]
Sonata in B flat, D 960 [39:05]
Sir András Schiff (fortepiano)
rec. Kammermusiksaal, Beethoven-Haus, Bonn, 2014. DDD
ECM NEW SERIES 4811572 (UK) 2425/26 (elsewhere) [67:11
+ 78:28]
This is not the first time that András Schiff has given
us the late Schubert Piano Sonatas: his recordings of D958, 959 and
960, with Four Impromptus, D899, recorded in 1990, is a notable
bargain on a Double Decca budget-price twofer, 4751842. The Impromptus,
D899 and D935, Moments Musicaux and shorter pieces are on another
Double Decca (E4581392). Those albums are excerpted from an 8-CD set
of all 21 sonatas, with the Trout Quintet and Moments Musicaux,
D780 (Decca 4805218).
I reviewed the Decca 2-CD sonata album in a survey of recordings of
D960 in DL
Roundup June 2012/1. Then as now my benchmark for this wonderful
sonata was and is the Clifford Curzon recording, still hanging on to
availability by the tips of its fingers as a download only of a multi-CD
set, Decca E4750842, best obtained from prestoclassical.co.uk
(mp3 and lossless)1. It’s possible to purchase just D960,
but there are so many other goodies in the rest of the set: the Grieg
Piano Concerto with Ĝivin Fjeldstad and the Dvorák and Franck Piano
Quintets not least among them. I’m at a complete loss to understand
why such wonderful performances have fallen out of the catalogue on
disc. He omits the first-movement repeat, which I think essential,
but Curzon, like Beecham, is one musician whom I can forgive for anything.
Since my survey in 2012 a recording by Barry Douglas has appeared on
Chandos (CHAN10807, with Wanderer Fantasia, etc.) and has generally
been welcomed, not least by me, though without quite dislodging top
recommendations –
review –
review – DL
News 2014/6.
I like Schiff’s Decca recording of D960, but ultimately I ruled
it out of contention because of the rather abrupt way that he makes
the gear-changes in the first movement, though awarding full marks for
including the repeat. Alfred Brendel, whose various recordings of this
sonata (Philips/Decca) are otherwise also high on my list, omits the
repeat, too, as does another otherwise strong contender, Imogen Cooper
(Avie), an omission which unbalances the sonata.
By taking the repeat, Schiff’s earlier recording weighs in rather more
heavily than most at 20:08. That’s comparable with Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich
(Hyperion Archive Service or download) who takes 20:25, and Stephen
Hough, who insists on the repeat in his notes (Hyperion) is only a fraction
faster at 19:57. The new Schiff recording clocks in at a fairly brisk
18:34.
The other important difference is that whereas the earlier recording
was made on a Bösendorfer, the new ECM was made in the Beethoven-Haus
in Bonn on a restored Franz Brodman fortepiano from about 1820 which
Schiff owns but is on loan. It is, of course, more intimate in tone
than the modern instrument, but it suits Schubert’s music very well.
I’m not the greatest fan of the fortepiano but only downright haters
of the instrument need steer clear on this occasion. It doesn’t quite
portray the full range of emotion that Curzon achieves – I find myself
falling into the trap of assuming that Schubert may have had the sound
in his head of an ‘ideal’ instrument – but it speaks to us in a way
which I find convincing: lyrical and intimate, so that I almost wanted
to sing along, rather than impassioned. It won’t always be the way
that I want to hear this sonata but I’ve already named plenty of fine
alternatives for that and several others are listed in MWI
Recommends.
There’s still an element of gear-changing as on the earlier recording,
but it’s much less noticeable, perhaps because of the sweeter tone of
the fortepiano. All in all Schiff’s brisker tempo makes me wonder if
I was wrong to read the same kind of emotion into this sonata which
I find in the String Quintet in C, D956.
The same is true of the second movement: I don’t want to hear the emotion
laid on thickly here and I like Schiff’s way of letting the music speak
for itself, but I shall also wish to hear other recordings which are
more overtly emotional. At 7:49 he’s noticeably faster than Curzon
or Brendel but arguably closer to the andante sostenuto marking.
I’ve concentrated on D960 because it’s not only the pinnacle of Schubert’s
piano works but it also ranks alongside Beethoven’s late sonatas as
one of the masterpieces of the repertoire. If you dislike this account,
the rest of the 2-CD set will hold little attraction for you, but if
it appeals to you as it does to me you should enjoy the other performances.
Not surprisingly, given what I’ve written about D960, it’s the lyrical
qualities of the other works that shine through, though without neglecting
their other aspects. In the Hungarian Melody, Allegretto
and Impromptus my comparison has been with Alfred Brendel, recorded
in 1972 and 1975 on an ADD Philips reissue (4425432, with Impromptus,
D899, also available as part of Decca Duo 4560612). In these works
the more intimate nature of the fortepiano suits the music very well
though, again, I shall not be throwing Brendel out.
For the Sonata, D894, and the Impromptus, D935, the obvious comparison
is with Andreas Staier who, despite the word ‘pianoforte’ on the CD
cover, actually plays these two works on a fortepiano. The two performers
adopt almost exactly the same tempi in D894 except that whereas Staier
allows the second movement to dream a little more – this is, after all,
a sonata labelled ‘Fantasy’, though the marking is andante –
Schiff is more direct. Heard in juxtaposition Schiff captures the andante
marking better and makes Staier sound a little too measured, though
I’m sure that would be less noticeable without the direct comparison
and there’s no lack of power from Staier where it’s called for, about
2:15 into the movement. Neither fortepiano strains the listener’s indulgence
– at least, not this listener’s. If you are seeking just these two
works, Staier could well be your man (Harmonia Mundi HMC902021).
I listened to the ECM recording as a 320 kb/s mp3 download from 7digital.com,
where you can find the equivalent of two CDs for £7.99, but without
the booklet. Though mp3 is far from ideal for piano music – one of
the most demanding media to record – the recording sounds fine in that
format, so I can recommend the CDs with confidence.
This is very much an alternative view of late Schubert. I wouldn’t
recommend these recordings of the two sonatas as my first choice but
I shall be returning to them to hear aspects of the music which others
don’t convey. I certainly hope that I have not given the impression
that the mellower tone of the fortepiano makes the music sound too gemütlich
or comfortable.
1 or stream/sample/download in lossless sound from Qobuz,
who also offer an
even more complete set of Curzon’s recordings.
Brian Wilson