Schubert's Piano Sonata D 960

Started by AB68, March 04, 2009, 11:40:08 AM

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AB68

This is my favorite piano sonata, and one of my favorite pieces of music.
I currently have 3 recordings:
Wilhelm Kempff,  Mitsuko Uchida and Elisabeth Leonskaya.
Which other recordings would you recommend?

George


rubio

#2
From the versions I have heard I would go for Karl Schnabel on Pearl (or Music & Arts for his complete Schubert)). It's deeply poetic, insightful and just so right. The EMI transfers stinks. I need to listen more to Richter's various performances. Anyway, they are quite different interpretations, so both artists are very much valid in their own right.

 

"One good thing about music, when it hits- you feel no pain" Bob Marley


jwinter

In addition to Kempff, I've long enjoyed Kovacevich in EMI, marvelous technique...



I also like Rubinstein:

The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Dr. Dread

Quote from: jwinter on March 04, 2009, 11:58:32 AM
...marvelous technique...

What do you mean when you say this? I mean: How can you hear this?

I'm serious. Thanks.

Mandryka

#6
Quote from: AB68 on March 04, 2009, 11:40:08 AM
This is my favorite piano sonata, and one of my favorite pieces of music.
I currently have 3 recordings:
Wilhelm Kempff,  Mitsuko Uchida and Elisabeth Leonskaya.
Which other recordings would you recommend?

This is one of my favourite sonatas too.


I agree with the Richter and Schnabel suggestions already made -- both are really very different from each other, so you really do need both. Richter wears his heart on his sleeve. Schnabel is more cool and patrician.

For a great modern performance I recommend Paul Lewis .

I also love the performances by Fleisher (on his CD called Two Hands) and Firorentino.

And those who have disappointed me. Well, Uchida and Kempff I'm afraid. And Curzon. And Rubinstein. And Perahia . And Horowitz. And Lupu.

Does anyone know the recording by Sofronitsky?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Peregrine

#7
Richter, Afanassiev, Sofronitsky, Sokolov and Schnabel
Yes, we have no bananas

AB68

Quote from: George on March 04, 2009, 11:49:12 AM
Sviatoslav Richter, Prague 1972

I have written some impressions of it here.

Thank you very much for that.
I am downloading the files right now.

George

Quote from: AB68 on March 04, 2009, 01:37:42 PM
Thank you very much for that.
I am downloading the files right now.

Your welcome, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do. 

Drasko

I like Rubinstein (1965) for beautifuly sung Andante and Sofronitsky (1960) for restlessness of first movement.

aquablob

Quote from: AB68 on March 04, 2009, 01:37:42 PM
Thank you very much for that.
I am downloading the files right now.


Ditto. George is 8)

Todd

There are quite a few good recordings, but Kovacevich's two recordings (Hyperion and EMI), Kempff's, Zacharias', Endres', and Richter's '72 (as an alternative) all hit the spot for me.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

jwinter

Quote from: Mn Dave on March 04, 2009, 12:39:30 PM
What do you mean when you say this? I mean: How can you hear this?

I'm serious. Thanks.

Well, I can't play the piano or read music, so you can safely assume that, to a certain extent, I am full of shit.  ;D

That said... basic technique, ie just getting the notes right in a reasonably proficient fashion, can be assumed most of the time – ya gotta be a pretty darned good piano player to get a recording contract with EMI, after all.  When I say technique, I'm talking about something beyond that, actually a number of things that I can hear (at least think I can hear them), and that generally separate the great from the so-so, IMO.  Speed and articulation, for one; the ability to rattle off a finger-twisting passage swiftly, making it sound effortless -- think Horowitz, to take an obvious example, or Cziffra. 

I'm also thinking of tonal quality, how they use all the tools at their disposal to give the piano a unique voice.  Think of Gould playing a fugue from the WTC, and then think of Richter playing the same passage -- anybody who's listened to a lot of piano recordings could immediately tell which is which, yet there are hundreds of pianists where the distinction is much harder to detect.  Sometimes technique in this sense can be used to artistically dubious purposes, of course (imagine if Gould recorded the Chopin Nocturnes – the mind boggles), but that's another whole topic.

There are other qualities, that I could probably tease out if I had more time to reflect.  For me it's basically subjective – it really boils down to how much the pianist's sheer piano-playing skill (to the limited extent that I'm able to ascertain it) blows me away, when compared to others that I've heard.  Plus, it sounds more intelligent than merely saying "wow, that was really good!"  ;D
 
The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

-- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Mandryka

#14
Quote from: Drasko on March 04, 2009, 01:45:59 PM
I like Rubinstein (1965) for beautifuly sung Andante and Sofronitsky (1960) for restlessness of first movement.

Right.

Even though I dissed Rubinstein's D960 I agree that his andante is beautiful.

And thanks for the positive point about the Sofrinitsky. I'm not really surprised it's good because he does the Schubert/Liszt songs so well.

The problem is that it costs over £70 from amazon in the UK  :o

Is his molto moderato so restless that it justifies such a price?
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Bunny

Other great D.960s I love include: Leif Ove Andsnes, Andreas Staier, and Leon Fleisher.

   

Drasko

Quote from: Mandryka on March 05, 2009, 06:45:13 AM
And thanks for the positive point about the Sofrinitsky. I'm not really surprised it's good because he does the Schubert/Liszt songs so well.

The problem is that it costs over £70 from amazon in the UK  :o

Is his molto moderato so restless that it justifies such a price?

No CD justifies £70. You can get it from Japan for about 20, shipping included.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=COCQ-83667

rubio

Quote from: Drasko on March 05, 2009, 08:06:12 AM
No CD justifies £70. You can get it from Japan for about 20, shipping included.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=COCQ-83667

How does that 1960 performance compare to the 1956 one included in the Brilliant Classics Sofronitsky set?
"One good thing about music, when it hits- you feel no pain" Bob Marley

Mandryka

Quote from: rubio on March 05, 2009, 08:37:45 AM
How does that 1960 performance compare to the 1956 one included in the Brilliant Classics Sofronitsky set?

Ahh -- I see that things are more complicated than I first thought ;D
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Holden

This  is also one of my favourrite sonatas.
Richter's very slow first movement is well worth hearing but not my top choice.

Both the Kovacevich versions are excellent and I can't pick between them.

Schnabel is another top choice.

But nobody has mentioned my favourite - Clara Haskil.
Cheers

Holden