Schubert Piano Sonatas

[Ray Hall]

Not being a pianophile, and neither owning this music (where have I been
you might reasonably ask? Shost..., Hind.., Xen..., Ber..., Bax... and
various other types of ...ings I might reply). Anyway, I recently became
aware, via some samples, of Margaret Leonskaja in a few selected
Schubert sonatas.

Leonskaja - is obviously a very mature artist, with a highly articulated
masculine touch, obviously worth 100 dime a dozen under-25 pretty
things. I was impressed and I know there are several sonatas with her on
Warner Apex. Good sound too.

Uchida - is well reviewed, but does she get carried away with the
beauty, and trying to dot the i's and cross the t's?

Kempff - I like his Bach transcriptions, but what is he like in
Schubert, and how is the 60s type sound now?

Brendel - his Impromptus are well reviewed, but can he get a bit dry and
dull in the sonatas?

Perahia - well reviewed, but what do the mavens here think?

I am also aware there may be others in the mix, but the above five
pianists should have collared this music ya reckon? I include the
Impromptus with the Sonatas btw.

Thx.

Ray Hall, Taree

[HT]

> Kempff - I like his Bach transcriptions, but what is he like in
> Schubert, and how is the 60s type sound now?

My favorite complete set. The sound is excellent - to these ears. It's among the best Kempff has done.

Henk

[Herman]

don't forget Radu Lupu

[Mort]

Hi,

Kempff (complete set on DG), plus S. Richter and Radu Lupu for selected
sonatas.

The sound in Kempff is good. A few years ago, DG remastered one single
Schubert CD with magnificent sound. However they will not remaster the
entire set, citing high costs. Pity.

Mort Linder

[howie...@btinternet.com]

I think everyone interested in Schubert should at least try David Fray, in 894. Not my style but really special nevertheless.

Has anyone explored the Schubert set from Massimiliano Dammerini? Or Michael Endres?

[MiNe109]

On 8/6/15 3:27 AM, Ray Hall wrote:
> I am also aware there may be others in the mix, but the above five
> pianists should have collared this music ya reckon? I include the
> Impromptus with the Sonatas btw.

Schnabel. Look for the late sonatas and impromptus under "Franz Schubert
piano classics" credited to Dubravka Tomsic.

Stephen

[Terry]

If you don't mind the sound of early pianos, Paul Badura-Skoda's set of the sonatas is absolutely wonderful. Very Viennese. By the way, I think you nailed it with your assessment of Leonskaya. Very masculine. I had some of her Schubert on CDs but gradually disposed of them.

[Steve Emerson]

Stick with Elisabeth Leonskaja.

Lupu is superb in nearly all the Schubert he did. Which, as with EL, includes the Impromptus.

I find Uchida's Schubert some of her most annoying work; unidiomatic in the extreme. I'm lukewarm on the others you mention.

Just as much as the Impromptus, you should also include the D. 946 Klavierstucke; and nearly as much -- the Moments Musicaux D. 780.

Gilels, Schnabel, and Arrau are all fairly reliable and at times brilliant; that'll help you fill in anything missing from the work of EL and Lupu.

Schnabel, incidentally, besides being a great musician, generally comes off as a bit brusque in Schubert. Very different from the lushness of Lupu and Leonskaja.

SE.

[smo...@hotmail.com]

Agree regarding Kempff, Lupu and Richter (my favorites are D 894 and D 960 (of several fine performances the one on Praga is my preferred recording). Richter is unique in these two sonatas)). I would add Pollini, Pires, especially the impromptus, klavierstücke and Allegretto and Kovacevich as worth seeking out. But there are so many fine recordings of this music.

If you don't know the sonatas perhaps you also don't know the fantasie in f minor D 940? Of this there are also many fine recordings. I would recommend starting with the one with Lupu and Perahia.

Regards
Soeren

[t]

Is no one aware of Henri Jolles' fabulous D894 on a Haydn Society LP?

[mrs...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 10:28:03 AM UTC+2, Ray Hall wrote:

> I am also aware there may be others in the mix, but the above five
> pianists should have collared this music ya reckon? I include the
> Impromptus with the Sonatas btw.
>
> Thx.
>
> Ray Hall, Taree

Krystian Zimerman in Impromptus, Pollini in Drei Klavierstuck D946, Volodos in D894, Sokolov in D959 (live), Sofronitsky in D784, D960 and Liszt song transcriptions.

[therejec...@gmail.com]

I'd warmly recommend the live recordings by Imogen Cooper on the Avie label. I heard her play the last three sonatas in Wigmore Hall (see review here: https://bachtrack.com/review-imogen-cooper-schubert-piano-sonata ) and it was one of the finest concerts I've been to. The recordings capture all the qualities I heard in the live performance.

I'm not a lachrymose person by nature, but Ms Cooper's performance of the slow movement of D960 really had me in tears.

[therejec...@gmail.com]

[Bozo]

>On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 6:47:14 PM UTC-5, therejec...@gmail.com wrote:
> I'm not a lachrymose person by nature, but Ms Cooper's performance of the slow >movement of D960 really had me in tears.

I share your admiration for Madame Cooper. Interestingly,Andras Schiff says it's fine to program the last 3 Beethoven sonatas in the same recital, but " not a good idea " to program the last 3 Schubert sonatas, so he's doing them over 3 recitals in London this season, I believe.

[danielf...@gmail.com]

I concur.
I'd also warmly recommend Brendel's Philips Duo of the complete impromptus and moments musicaux:
http://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Complete-Impromptus-Moments-Musicaux/dp/B0000041MS

/Daniel

[laraine]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 6:47:14 PM UTC-5, therejec...@gmail.com wrote:

> I'd warmly recommend the live recordings by Imogen Cooper on the Avie label. I heard her play the last three sonatas in Wigmore Hall (see review here: https://bachtrack.com/review-imogen-cooper-schubert-piano-sonata ) and it was one of the finest concerts I've been to. The recordings capture all the qualities I heard in the live performance.
>
> I'm not a lachrymose person by nature, but Ms Cooper's performance of the slow movement of D960 really had me in tears.

I agree that Imogen Cooper seems to be quite an expert in playing Schubert.

David Fray sometimes sounds extremely good at it too.

C.

[dk]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 1:28:03 AM UTC-7, Ray Hall wrote:

Just off the top of my head (and in alphabetical order):

D960: Afanassiev, Eschenbach, Richter, Schnabel, Sofronitsky, Sokolov.
D959: Afanassiev, Eschenbach, Lupu, Schnabel, Sokolov.
D958: Brendel (early), Richter.
D894: Afanassiev, Eschenbach, Lupu, Richter, Sokolov.
D850: Bashkirov, Gilels, Richter, Schnabel.
D845: Bashkirov, Pollini (early), Richter.
D840. Richter.
D784: Ashkenazy, Richter, Sofronitsky, Sokolov.
D664: Ashkenazy, Bashkirov, Lupu, Richter.
D566: Lupu, Richter.
D537: Lupu, Michelangeli.

Note the complete absence from the above list of Arraus, Bowlets, Fishers,
Kempffs, Purrahias and Hattos.

Enjoy!

dk

[Frank Lekens]

Steve Emerson schreef op 6-8-2015 18:57:

I also prefer Lupu to what I've heard of Uchida, Brendel and Perahia.
And since nobody seems to mention him, I'll put in a good word for
Christian Zacharias (a fine complete set of the major sonatas and an
even better remake of D959 on the DBG label).

--
Frank Lekens

http://fmlekens.home.xs4all.nl/

[Frank Lekens]

Frank Lekens schreef op 7-8-2015 09:21:

Also, I like Buchbinder's recent CD with D960 and D899. Certainly a
gloves off approach to the music.

Afanassiev, also suggested in this thread, is interesting too. But very
idiosyncratic, extremely low tempi in the late sonatas (the only ones
I've heard).

[Bozo]

>On Friday, August 7, 2015 at 3:49:25 AM UTC-5, Frank Lekens wrote:
>Also, I like Buchbinder's recent CD with D960 and D899. Certainly a
> gloves off approach to the music.

Thanks, have not heard, but have been following Buchbinder where possible. He is playing a Beethoven sonatas complete cycle over 9 recitals at the Edinburgh Festival this year, sold-out I believe. Don't know if will be recorded.

[Al Eisner]

I also very much favor Lupu. I highly recommend his inexpensive Decca
set of sonatas (Amazon ASIN B000BVEKKE) and his single CD of the
impromptus (the first CD I ever bought, and still unsurpassed in
my experience). I've also started listening to Leonskaja on rmcr
recommendations (mainly Steve Emerson's, I think) and like what
I've heard.

I'm a bit surprised Steve didn't include Sofronitsky above. The
(OOP?) Sofronitsky Russian Archive box set on Brilliant included
D960 and D784. I found the D960 interesting (particularly dramatic
in the first movement, unfortunately no repeat), if not a top choice
for me. But the D784 may be the most effective performance I've
heard of this dark sonata.

I very much like Richter's crystalline performance of D664 (EMI).
His take on D960 is fascinating, with the first movement taking
more than 50% longer than Lupu's and others (comparing those
which take the repeat). He almost pulls it off! (Try a 1972
studio performance, which is similar to but with far less
unwanted noise than I've heard in a live performance of his).
--
Al Eisner

[wkasimer]

On Friday, August 7, 2015 at 3:52:41 PM UTC-4, Al Eisner wrote:

> I also very much favor Lupu. I highly recommend his inexpensive Decca
> set of sonatas (Amazon ASIN B000BVEKKE) and his single CD of the
> impromptus (the first CD I ever bought, and still unsurpassed in
> my experience).

Also available in this set of Lupu's Decca solo recordings:

http://www.amazon.com/Radu-Lupu-Complete-Decca-Recordings/dp/B0038Q3UKA

[Steve Emerson]

Schiff is completely right about this. If played with repeats (as they should be, but as many -- including Brendel -- don't), D. 959 and D. 960 make up a monumental program with no room for anything else. (Didn't that great Bath recital of Leonskaja's, not long ago, include them both?) D. 958 could easily combine with either, but not with both.and most pianists recording in the 78 era

Opp 109, 110, and 111 make a fairly tidy group; that is, unless Ugorski or maybe Afanassiev is playing 111.

SE.

[John Wiser]

"Steve Emerson" <mrfi...@gmail.com> wrote :

>...and most pianists recording in the 78 era

I hope you'll complete this thought for us.

jdw

[mrfi...@gmail.com]

> > I also prefer Lupu to what I've heard of Uchida, Brendel and Perahia. And
> > since nobody seems to mention him, I'll put in a good word for Christian
> > Zacharias (a fine complete set of the major sonatas and an even better remake
> > of D959 on the DBG label).

> I also very much favor Lupu. I highly recommend his inexpensive Decca
> set of sonatas (Amazon ASIN B000BVEKKE) and his single CD of the
> impromptus (the first CD I ever bought, and still unsurpassed in
> my experience). I've also started listening to Leonskaja on rmcr
> recommendations (mainly Steve Emerson's, I think) and like what
> I've heard.
>
> I'm a bit surprised Steve didn't include Sofronitsky above. The
> (OOP?) Sofronitsky Russian Archive box set on Brilliant included
> D960 and D784. I found the D960 interesting (particularly dramatic
> in the first movement, unfortunately no repeat), if not a top choice
> for me. But the D784 may be the most effective performance I've
> heard of this dark sonata.

Sofronitsky's D. 784 is terrific, I fully agree. (Zhukov's is too, btw.) Sofronitsky also left five wonderful (nonpareil, even) impromptus. Wanderer too.

I was mostly trying to make it easy on Ray, listing out readily accessible material from pianists whose Schubert is consistent. For somebody who thinks nothing of going to lengths to piece things together, order from Japan, buy old vinyl etc. -- I'm sure I'd list other players. Like Pires, Bashkirov, Afanassiev (sp), Sofronitsky, Richter, Dalberto, Quefellec, Serkin, Fiorentino... But, you know, Richter and Dalberto are inconsistent, and so forth, others unavailable, and so forth.

[Steve Emerson]

On Friday, August 7, 2015 at 2:46:06 PM UTC-7, John Wiser wrote:
> "Steve Emerson" wrote :

>
> >...and most pianists recording in the 78 era
>
> I hope you'll complete this thought for us.
>
> jdw

Ach. Sorry about the mess. I decided to delete that, but I failed.

It only had to with repeats not taken by those, in this case not a big population.

SE.

[Christopher Webber]

On 07/08/2015 22:36, Steve Emerson wrote:
> If played with repeats (as they should be, but as many -- including Brendel -- don't), D. 959 and D. 960 make up a monumental program with no room for anything else.

I'm not sure about the "should". I find myself with Brendel on the
matter of Schubert repeats, and certainly still find his performances
extremely satisfying. A little tasteful selectivity in the matter can
make these excellent pieces seem more focused, and less ... well, simply
... long.

Pragmatism rather than purity is often desirable, in opera and
elsewhere: and here, it seems to me there is an intellectual as well as
emotional case for omitting at least some of Schubert's marked repeats.
Unlike Beethoven, some of the repetitions in these sonatas might be
viewed as nods to convention, rather than necessities.

[Al Eisner]

Understood. I realized after I posted that I hadn't researched how
to find the Sofronitsky, given the cost of the Brilliant set these
days (and its large amount of material irrelevant to Ray's request).

Lupu's efforts are easy to acquire and answers much of the question.
(At least for someone who likes Lupu!)
--
Al Eisner

[Al Eisner]

Schiff? The guy who, in a recital I attended, played the Goldberg
Variations complete (repeats, etc.), then the Diabelli Variations,
and then for an encore played all of Op. 111? That Schiff?
--
Al Eisner

[timwill...@gmail.com]

Op vrijdag 7 augustus 2015 23:36:49 UTC+2 schreef Steve Emerson:

>
> Schiff is completely right about this. If played with repeats (as they should be, but as many -- including Brendel -- don't), D. 959 and D. 960 make up a monumental program with no room for anything else. (Didn't that great Bath recital of Leonskaja's, not long ago, include them both?) D. 958 could easily combine with either, but not with both.and most pianists recording in the 78 era
>
> Opp 109, 110, and 111 make a fairly tidy group; that is, unless Ugorski or maybe Afanassiev is playing 111.
>
> SE.

It all depends on the pianist I'd say: I heard Brendel and Till Fellner play the last 3 Schubert sonatas and I had no problems at all. It was a long programme, yes, but absolutely fascinating. It should be "me", but I also heard Schiff play several Schubert recitals, one of them with all the Klavierstucke, Impromptus and Moments Musicaux and it was one of the most boring concerts I ever attended. No passion whatsoever, just relentlessly pleasant music making. It made me want to slam doors when I came home.....

TH

[richard...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 4:28:03 AM UTC-4, Ray Hall wrote:
> Not being a pianophile, and neither owning this music (where have I been
> you might reasonably ask? Shost..., Hind.., Xen..., Ber..., Bax... and
> various other types of ...ings I might reply). Anyway, I recently became
> aware, via some samples, of Margaret Leonskaja in a few selected
> Schubert sonatas.
>
> Leonskaja - is obviously a very mature artist, with a highly articulated
> masculine touch, obviously worth 100 dime a dozen under-25 pretty
> things. I was impressed and I know there are several sonatas with her on
> Warner Apex. Good sound too.
>
> Uchida - is well reviewed, but does she get carried away with the
> beauty, and trying to dot the i's and cross the t's?
>
> Kempff - I like his Bach transcriptions, but what is he like in
> Schubert, and how is the 60s type sound now?
>
> Brendel - his Impromptus are well reviewed, but can he get a bit dry and
> dull in the sonatas?
>
> Perahia - well reviewed, but what do the mavens here think?
>
> I am also aware there may be others in the mix, but the above five
> pianists should have collared this music ya reckon? I include the
> Impromptus with the Sonatas btw.
>
> Thx.
>
> Ray Hall, Taree

There is a recent Melodiya box of Richter playing Schubert live in Moscow: 5CDs or so, stereo, good sound for Richter. I bought it from Presto. There are earlier Richter recordings, often in execrable sound, on many reissue labels which show a younger man's approach, often quite different. However, his EMI recordings, available in several EMI (Warner) sets are worth hearing, mostly from the early 60s.
Uchida is awful. Mannered playing that made me lose patience with the discs (complete set, a real mistake paying attention to good reviews).
A Schiff is fine, but never earth-shaking, which may be some people's ideal for Schubert but leaves me open to go back to Richter.
The EMI Zacharias set is the real thing- idiomatic playing that holds the attention. Cheap too if you can still get it. The EMI Tirimo set is an interesting curiosity- he plays well but is not competitive with the best, but he doesn't play the same music. All the sonatas in his set have been 'completed' where Schubert left them unfinished.
Kempff (DG) is good, >> Uchida but <Schiff in my view. I have Brendel's Schubert from 3 vintages, and I like it somewhat more than Kempff, but less than Zacharias, Richter and Arrau.
Arrau on Philips is weighty, has great sound, and won't suit you at all if you like Uchida.
I hope this helps. For completeness the piano 4 hands pieces are great too, especially the Grand Duo. I have the set with Justus Frantz and Eschenbach on EMI, and love them.

[Steve Emerson]

That's possible. And I guess if Brendel, sans repeats, feels sufficiently Schubertian to you, there's no arguing the matter (doesn't to me).

The first movement of D960 is a different matter. The logic changes too much without a repeat (look at the nine bracketed bars preceding the repeat, which are to play the first time but not the second).

SE.

[Sol L. Siegel]

Frank Lekens <frankhaaldit...@xs4all.invalid> wrote in
news:55c45c7a$0$2883$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl:

> And since nobody seems to mention him, I'll put in a good word for
> Christian Zacharias (a fine complete set of the major sonatas and an
> even better remake of D959 on the DBG label).
>

I'll second, at least on the set. There's also an earlier D. 894
that I've given up hope of seeing reissued.

- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA

[Christopher Webber]

On 08/08/2015 03:48, Steve Emerson wrote:
> The first movement of D960 is a different matter. The logic changes too much without a repeat (look at the nine bracketed bars preceding the repeat, which are to play the first time but not the second).

I would agree with you there, pragmatically as well as purely!

[chriskh...@gmail.com]

Il giorno venerdì 7 agosto 2015 23:48:37 UTC+2, mrfi...@gmail.com ha scritto:
I'm sure I'd list other players. Like Pires, Bashkirov, Afanassiev (sp), Sofronitsky, Richter, Dalberto, Quefellec, Serkin, Fiorentino...

Or like Helene Boschi in the B flat

[Steve Emerson]

Yes, point taken. There are no guarantees! That's a perfect description of Schiff at his worst. Same way with Goldberg Variations in a performance I saw.

I don't know about Fellner, but Brendel does omit a lot of repeats, at least on recordings, including the one in the D960 first movement. ---Were Brendel and Fellner sharing the bill, or two different concerts?

SE.

[Tony]

Just as a FYI - Krystian Zimerman has been playing D959 and D960 in recital and will do so a few more times later this year.

[howie...@btinternet.com]

Have any of the many thoughtful pianists who don't play the structural first movement repeat in 960 commented in public about why they omit it? Schnabel, Erdmann, Fiorentino, Annie Fischer, Horszowski, Kempff . . .

[timwill...@gmail.com]

Op zaterdag 8 augustus 2015 17:37:09 UTC+2 schreef Steve Emerson:

>
> Yes, point taken. There are no guarantees! That's a perfect description of Schiff at his worst. Same way with Goldberg Variations in a performance I saw.
>
> I don't know about Fellner, but Brendel does omit a lot of repeats, at least on recordings, including the one in the D960 first movement. ---Were Brendel and Fellner sharing the bill, or two different concerts?
>
> SE.

No, I heard both Brendel and Fellner in a programme with the last 3 Schubert sonatas.

TH

[Andy Evans]

> If you don't mind the sound of early pianos, Paul Badura-Skoda's set of the sonatas is absolutely wonderful. Very Viennese. By the way, I think you nailed it with your assessment of Leonskaya. Very masculine. I had some of her Schubert on CDs but gradually disposed of them.

Badura Skoda had some earlier versions as well, didn't he? They were good.

But again, Kempff for me all the way. Some of it is just simply magical. Prefer his Schubert to his Beethoven.

But what about Edwin Fischer? One of my favourite pianists in this kind of repertoire..... except he doesn't seem to have recorded any Schubert Sonatas. Spooky........ He must have played them.

Same with Backhaus - no Schubert sonatas... What the hell's going on here?

[Andy Evans]

I forgot to mention my favourite D960. Horowitz live in 1953 at Carnegie Hall.

OK, bonkers maybe, but I have no resistance to its unique charms.

[Ricardo Jimenez]

It might be a generational thing. I think Schubert sonatas weren't
played very much until the 1960s. The story goes that in 1927
Rachmaninoff was asked if he was going to perform any Schubert sonatas
during the 1928 centennial of the composers death, he answered
incredulously, "Schubert wrote piano sonatas?".

[Herman]

On Sunday, August 23, 2015 at 4:41:06 PM UTC+2, Andy Evans wrote:


>
> But what about Edwin Fischer? One of my favourite pianists in this kind of repertoire..... except he doesn't seem to have recorded any Schubert Sonatas. Spooky........ He must have played them.
>
> Same with Backhaus - no Schubert sonatas... What the hell's going on here?

people weren't going to buy those records.

[howie...@btinternet.com]

1928 was a Schubert memorial year and it saw a plethora of Schubert sonata recordings. Rudolf Serkin recorded D 958 and Leff Pouishnoff and Josef Hirt recorded D 894. The minuet from the same sonata, D 894, had been recorded the year before by Walter Rehberg, and Vianna da Motta recorded the minuet in 1928 too.

[Bozo]

>On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 3:28:03 AM UTC-5, Ray Hall wrote:

I like Badurs-Skoda's piano ( not fortepiano ) D.959.

Here is Barry Douglas playing 959 live at 2015 Clandeboye Festival , not the depth of Badura-Skoda I thought :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06703sm

[RiRiIII]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 11:28:03 AM UTC+3, Ray Hall wrote:
> Not being a pianophile, and neither owning this music (where have I been
> you might reasonably ask? Shost..., Hind.., Xen..., Ber..., Bax... and
> various other types of ...ings I might reply). Anyway, I recently became
> aware, via some samples, of Margaret Leonskaja in a few selected
> Schubert sonatas.
>
> Leonskaja - is obviously a very mature artist, with a highly articulated
> masculine touch, obviously worth 100 dime a dozen under-25 pretty
> things. I was impressed and I know there are several sonatas with her on
> Warner Apex. Good sound too.
>
> Uchida - is well reviewed, but does she get carried away with the
> beauty, and trying to dot the i's and cross the t's?
>
> Kempff - I like his Bach transcriptions, but what is he like in
> Schubert, and how is the 60s type sound now?
>
> Brendel - his Impromptus are well reviewed, but can he get a bit dry and
> dull in the sonatas?
>
> Perahia - well reviewed, but what do the mavens here think?
>
> I am also aware there may be others in the mix, but the above five
> pianists should have collared this music ya reckon? I include the
> Impromptus with the Sonatas btw.
>
> Thx.
>
> Ray Hall, Taree

The recording of D845 by Pollini is a miracle.

Alex

[pyochungsa]

Further inquieries on this subject could be made by reading about Robert von Keudell, or, even better, by consulting his "Fürst und Fürstin Bismarck. Erinnerungen aus den Jahren 1846 bis 1872". A very important source - neglected however by all musicologists - about the early playing of Schubert (and Beethoven) Sonatas, by Keudell himself, around 1850. That Schubert Sonatas were unknown before its "rediscovery" by Schnabel et. al. is purely nonsense.

[MickeyBoy]

On Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at 8:37:25 AM UTC-5, pyochungsa wrote:
> Further inquieries on this subject could be made by reading about Robert von Keudell, or, even better, by consulting his "Fürst und Fürstin Bismarck. Erinnerungen aus den Jahren 1846 bis 1872". A very important source - neglected however by all musicologists - about the early playing of Schubert (and Beethoven) Sonatas, by Keudell himself, around 1850. That Schubert Sonatas were unknown before its "rediscovery" by Schnabel et. al. is purely nonsense.

Thanks for the reference. This book is available for free here:
https://goo.gl/k8xa0w

There is a French translation, also free, available here:
https://goo.gl/CSSTrh

[Bozo]

>On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 3:28:03 AM UTC-5, Ray Hall wrote:

Kovacevich in D.959 :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06c9vhj

[dk]

Not surprising considering it is an almost exact
carbon copy of Richter's well-known D845 from
the mid 1950s in Budapest.

dk

[O]

In article <8aa6b9fa-4dc7-4968...@googlegroups.com>, dk

Imitation is the sincerest form of flatulence.

-Owen

[Herman]

this whole carbon copy claim is ridiculous.

[dk]

Just listen.

dk

[gggg gggg]

On Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 1:28:03 AM UTC-7, Ray Hall wrote:
> Not being a pianophile, and neither owning this music (where have I been
> you might reasonably ask? Shost..., Hind.., Xen..., Ber..., Bax... and
> various other types of ...ings I might reply). Anyway, I recently became
> aware, via some samples, of Margaret Leonskaja in a few selected
> Schubert sonatas.
>
> Leonskaja - is obviously a very mature artist, with a highly articulated
> masculine touch, obviously worth 100 dime a dozen under-25 pretty
> things. I was impressed and I know there are several sonatas with her on
> Warner Apex. Good sound too.
>
> Uchida - is well reviewed, but does she get carried away with the
> beauty, and trying to dot the i's and cross the t's?
>
> Kempff - I like his Bach transcriptions, but what is he like in
> Schubert, and how is the 60s type sound now?
>
> Brendel - his Impromptus are well reviewed, but can he get a bit dry and
> dull in the sonatas?
>
> Perahia - well reviewed, but what do the mavens here think?
>
> I am also aware there may be others in the mix, but the above five
> pianists should have collared this music ya reckon? I include the
> Impromptus with the Sonatas btw.
>
> Thx.
>
> Ray Hall, Taree

(2023 Y. upload):

"Schubert - Piano Sonata No. 21, in B flat. - the most beautiful piece ever written for solo piano?"