Composer Franz Schubert was one of the greatest masters of conveying emotion through music. Yes, his own life was filled with sadness and illness, and yearned fir the joy that seemingly others had.
This personal tragedy led to Schubert’s composition of many songs, symphonies, chamber music and piano works that allow us to hear about his life almost 200 years after his death in 1828.
We get to listen to the following selections on this fine CD:
Schubert:
- Hungarian Melody in B minor D817
- Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, D894
- Moments Musicaux (6), D780, Op. 94
- Allegretto in C minor, D915
- 4 Impromptus, D935
- Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major, D960
Performed by András Schiff (fortepiano)
András Schiff’s reputation as one of the great interpreters of the work of Franz Schubert is long-established, and he has always maintained that Schubert’s music is among the most moving ever written.
Schiff emphasizes this point again on this remarkable recording. Two Schubert Sonatas (D894 & D960), the six Moments musicaux, Four Impromptus (D 935), the ‘Hungarian Melody’ and an Allegretto are all performed on the fortepiano.
The pianist said:
“My fortepiano was built by Franz Brodmann in Vienna in 1820. It is to me ideally suited to Schubert’s keyboard works. There is something quintessentially Viennese in its timbre, its tender mellowness, its melancholic cantabilità…It is in the quiet and quietest moments when Schubert – like nobody else – touches our hearts.”
Schiff also noted:
“Finding the right venue is essential. The room must not be too large, its acoustics, proportions, resonances and atmosphere should be ideally attuned to the needs of the fortepiano. Such a hall is the Kemmermusiksaal H.J. Abs of the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.” It was there that these memorable recordings were made in July 2014.
Here is Andras Schiff, performing the Sonata in E by Franz Schubert:
Tags: Franz Schubert, András Schiff, Sonatas, Impromptus, Moments Musicaux
