Schubertiade!

Started by Todd, June 05, 2015, 07:56:56 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Todd




Every once in a while, a great artist releases a recording that, despite the artist's ability and talent, fails to live up to expectations; every once in a while, a great artist produces a dud.  This is not one of those times.

The disc opens with the main work, and Volodos opens with rich, dark-hued forte chords that seem perfectly controlled in every aspect, but then come the descending arpeggios and Volodos plays with such incredible sensitivity and finely nuanced touch that it scarcely seems credible.  Had he not released his Brahms and Mompou discs before this, one might almost think some studio knob twiddling was deployed to achieve the effect.  As he moves through the movement, Volodos plays every bar well nigh flawlessly, but something of a flaw does begin to catch one's ear.  The playing sounds so ravishingly beautiful and meticulous and perfectly refined in absolutely every aspect that one revels in the pianism alone.  The music almost becomes secondary.  That's not say the Volodos draws attention to himself and plays in a flashy way, but rather to say that the level of perfection is so absolute and all-encompassing that it almost defies belief, and one not only can't hear the musical forest for the trees, but one can't entirely appreciate the trees for the meticulously manicured bark, at least on the first handful of listens.  (It took a full half-dozen run-throughs before I could appreciate the full scope of the music.)  For instance, in the coda of the Allegro, one greedily listens to every note, or tries to, whether it is in the meticulously played accompaniment or the colorful melody or, even better yet, in the dreamy final notes.  It mesmerizes.  Volodos makes the Andantino the heart of his conception.  His playing is quite simply beyond beautiful, richly hued, and sorrowful in a flawlessly controlled way in the opening, and his slow tempo seems just right.  He transitions to the middle flawlessly, and then creates a dream-like atmosphere while slowly building up to a fully satisfying fortissimo.  One might be able to say that his sforzandi lack the last word in bite since they are so obviously perfect sounding, but that wouldn't be entirely true, and it's entirely irrelevant in the end.  In the Scherzo, Volodos displays more energy and weight, and while the rhythmic component is flawless, it's idealized, it's self-contained, and the Trio takes the more beautiful than beautiful approach up again in the right hand playing, where some of the pianissimo playing again makes wonder how he does it.  In the Rondo, Volodos lavishes such focus and control on the right hand playing as to render the movement an endless melody, only interrupted by some potent but gorgeous left hand playing in the stormy middle section.  The overall effect of the playing is to create an aural frieze of sorts, one so finely executed that the listener could, if he or she chose, grab any ten or twenty or thirty second snippet and listen to it in a loop and enjoy perfection, or, as is more advisable, the lucky listener could just luxuriate in the whole thing.  Great is such a puny word.

On Volodos' Tchaikovsky and Rach concerto discs the biggest draws are the encores.  That very nearly happens here - and that with one of the great D959s as the big work!  Volodos' selections were not random, and he makes them seem like more than miniatures.  To be sure, he does not and cannot turn the pieces into epoch defining compositions.  What he does and can do is play them with such immaculate control and beauty that he manages to deliver condensed versions of Schubert's much vaunted Heavenly Lengths, and in the D600/D610 he pulls off the musical suspension of time trick, and lends the playing weight and drama sufficient to be accompaniment to a serious lied.  In D313, at the 1'27" mark at the beginning of the middle section, the playing drops rather dramatically in volume from its already low level, to something akin to pppppp.  At first, I almost thought this was a case of engineering gone awry, though something nearly as delicate and gentle appears close to the end of the section.  Volodos easily displaces Yaeko Yamane in delivering the most gently played, quietest pianississississimo playing I've heard, and he does so while delivering such beautiful tone and such effortless lyricism that I cannot help but spin the whole damn disc when I start it up, just like with his Brahms.

When earlier this year I saw that the great Mr Volodos was releasing Schubert's D959, I was most excited.  Having heard a live version from him online a while back, I knew good things were in store.  Having now heard this disc multiple times, I can confirm that something much better than merely good was delivered.  A purchase of the year and decade.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

staxomega

Thanks for the review of the newest Volodos, there is also an older disc of his that this has tipped me off to with D157 and D894.

Todd

Quote from: hvbias on November 09, 2019, 07:37:26 AM
Thanks for the review of the newest Volodos, there is also an older disc of his that this has tipped me off to with D157 and D894.


That is a great disc, but this one demonstrates how Volodos has evolved in the ensuing years.  His touch and control in the earlier disc is of course super-fine, but it is now nearly super-human. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Brian

That cover image is the same picture used on the back of the booklet for his Brahms CD.

Mandryka

It certainly is amazing piano playing.

I've been listening to 959/ii. Does he build enough tension before the outburst? Or does it sound like a random nonsensical event? I don't know. The pianissimos are so quiet!
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

staxomega

#105
Quote from: Todd on November 09, 2019, 07:41:20 AM

That is a great disc, but this one demonstrates how Volodos has evolved in the ensuing years.  His touch and control in the earlier disc is of course super-fine, but it is now nearly super-human.

I bought the old Sony SACD, the performances were very good. I have the new disc in my queue. In the meantime Kun-Woo Paik's Schubert album has been in my heavy rotation, it's exceptional, if you bought the CD does it have English liner notes?

Todd

Quote from: hvbias on November 29, 2019, 03:22:12 AMIn the meantime Kun-Woo Paik's Schubert album has been in my heavy rotation, it's exceptional, if you bought the CD does it have English liner notes?


Yes, by Jeremy Siepmann.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

staxomega

#107
Quote from: Todd on November 29, 2019, 04:37:40 AM

Yes, by Jeremy Siepmann.

Thanks, a purchase will be in order.

I've finished listening to Volodos D959 twice, the first time letting the volume just rip on my Harbeths, I think what you've written rings particularly true to how I'm hearing it as well. This might require many listens before I fully come to grips with it because I was reveling in his pianism, but aside from the Andantino I felt like I wasn't that moved by it as a whole. This might be because I was focusing so much on his playing. Last night it was 1 am, well past when I'd normally be up and I'm thinking shit, I really want to hear this all over again. It is pretty safe to say I'd go out of my way to try and see Volodos play this program.

My favorite from 2019 remains Lucchesini. I fell in love with this on first listen, in my opinion he brings some lyricism to the first movement that I found Volodos was a bit lacking in, and some nervous energy towards the end of the first movement. This disc sat on my shelf for a couple of months, I was afraid it would not live up to my expectations of seeing him play D959 live, which still echo in my head. Fortunately the overall execution and level of performance was fairly similar.

I have Lonquich up next. It seems like 2019 has been a bloody good year for D959.

Todd




Dina Ugorskaja now belongs to that collection of artists about whom it will always be asked "What if?"  What if she had not passed away at the way too young age of only forty-six?  I first stumbled upon her a few years back when I spied some late Beethoven she had recorded.  I bought it, listened, and then I then scrambled to buy up all of her recordings then available.  No doubt inspired by her father, Anatol Ugorski, she went her own way.  Her interpretations do not quite sound like anyone else's.  There something unique, sometimes willfully so, in much of her playing.  I still remember the first time I listened to her recording of Kreisleriana.  It left me bewildered, almost dazed.  What is this, I thought?  Now, it's old hat, but it took a while to get there.  Rarely do pianists evoke this type of response.  And yes, I am including the typically very willful pianists when I write that.  Unlike Pogorelich or Barto or even Ugorski, Ugorskaja is often off-kilter, but for some very good reasons that only reveal themselves after multiple listens, and coming to terms with what she decided to do.  It was with surprise and sadness that I learned of her death recently.  And then when I saw that Schubert would be her final recorded testament, particularly D960, I had to hear it, but I immediately thought that she would turn the main work into a personal exploration of impending death.

Ugorskaja has never been a speed demon, but her D960 is on the longer than long side, coming in at over forty-eight minutes total, with just shy of twenty-four minutes devoted to the Molto moderato.  While one might be tempted to approach this as her rumination on impending death, especially with the long pauses and desolate bass trills, one doesn't get that sense for much of the movement.  It does start very slow, and only gradually picks up the pace a little bit, and it does pick up in dynamic contrasts a bit, but it seems more broadly contemplative than grim.  Maybe one can catch aural glimpses of resignation, as when she extends some arpeggios just so, or hints of anger in the bass trills.  Also, partly due to the breadth and style, the movement takes on a fantastic air, sort of quasi-spontaneously unfolding.  It's not the most lyrical, not the darkest, not the lightest, not the most anything; it's just a serious take on the piece.  She continues this on into the Andante, which also remains slow and long a almost becomes the focus.  The middle section finds her playing the left hand figurations in an almost detached way when compared to the melody, so there's a sense of disjointedness, but it works.  After well over half an hour of slow, somewhat heavy music making, the Scherzo comes off as a light, lyrical respite, though it keeps a somewhat disjointed feel compared to fleeter takes.  The concluding Allegro ma non troppo merges the approach of the first two movements and the third into something alternating between more lyrical flights of fancy and stormier passages.  Overall, it's an excellent take, with some fine details, but it's not a standard-setter, and not a glimpse into the unknown by someone standing on the precipice.

Any ideas about purely funereal Schubert are entirely dispelled in D946.  Ugorskaja plays the opening Allegro assai with more than ample energy and drive.  Indeed, it comes closer than anticipated to sounding like driven, hard-hitting Schubert than lyrical Schubert.  The lyrical bit is saved for the quite attractive and very well judged Allegretto.  It's firm, yet lilting; it's relaxed, but it has backbone; it's beautiful, but it's not flowery, especially in the faster passages.  In the Allegro, she plays the music in a fairly driven manner in the outer sections, but it is the more tense than lovely middle section that stands out.  Here, one might say that there are hints of anger.  D946 represents a comparative qualitative step up.

The recording ends with the Moments Musicaux D780.  Again, Ugorskaja avoids the specter of death, at least to start, instead opting focus on some little details.  She extends some phrases, truncates others, mixes lyricism and harder edged playing, and deploys strong but not domineering sforzandi - and that is just in the opening Moderato.  The Andantino has long struck me as a piece that can assume as funereal and haunting a feel as anything in D960, and while Ugorskaja does offer hints of darkness, it's about more than that.  The lullaby section has a sense of darkness and resignation, but the second section is off-kilter, disjointed, a confused musical wandering, with the pianist searching, looking, desperately grasping, and when it returns, it is sharp, intense, and painful.  It turns out that this may be the emotional heart of the work, of the recording.  To offer nearly maximum contrast, the Allegro moderato is more or less just a gentle, lovely, slightly off balance piece meant to soothe.  The same cannot be written about the Moderato that follows, which has some bite, and the Allegro vivace has even more.  Finally, in the concluding Allegretto, one hears a more compact piece that seems to alternate between sorrow and acceptance.  Ugorskaja doesn't let the music just flow, but there's a sense of calm, even in louder passages, and somehow, even in simple chords, the pianist imbues the music with something more, something undefinable.  Though the set starts with Schubert's greatest solo piano work, Ugorskaja saves her very best for last.

Once again, as in every release I've heard from her - which is everything except her Brahms - Ugorskaja delivers something unique, something with moments of intimate insight and expression.  She delivers something real, something beyond merely the notes.  This is not the greatest Schubert recording I own, but it never needed to be, and to say that there is more than enough to return to over the coming decades is an understatement. 

Though I never met her, I already miss Ms Ugorskaja. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Todd



If a pianist is gonna start a new Schubert piano sonata cycle, why not announce intentions by starting off with D960?  William Youn includes the repeat and starts off slow and austere, highlighting, discreetly, some left hand playing, while keeping the long Molto moderato moving forward smoothly.  He manages to bring out all voices with superb clarity without overemphasizing anything, and he uses pauses expertly, not overdoing those, either.  He delivers right hand figures with perfect weight and duration for each note, he delivers supremely clear accompaniment, and then, of course, he delivers superb bass trills.  So basically flawless is Youn's playing that one might, just for a second, think it's too perfect.  He's gotta botch something.  Youn's playing is not the most emotive around, so I guess there's that, but that hardly counts as a flaw with playing like this.  Typically, I don't really think of Youn as a hard hitting pianist, because that's not his thing, but here he shows he can do so when so inclined.  In the Andante sostenuto, Youn delivers lovely melodies, and the accompaniment is halting.  Maybe that's a flaw, except for the perfect execution and realization, which Youn amplifies when he speeds up and plays the middle section with more lyricism and tension, and some terse, powerful left hand playing.  Youn plays the Scherzo at a brisk, clear pace, and again his clarity of voices really stands out.  One can follow the insistent, perfectly poised left hand, or the brightly colored melodies emerging form the right with equal ease.  Youn starts the concluding movement firmly but not with a massive bang, and almost like Zimerman, he sort of clips it a bit.  This means that the fortissimo playing later has more impact, and the gently insistent, indeed unyielding left hand playing sounds quite compelling, somehow drawing attention away from the melodies, though not really.  Very nice.  As predicted.  Less predictable is the rushed coda, which adds a nice touch.  He closes the disc out with D157.  Whenever I heard the opening, memories, never too old, of Volodos' recording comes to mind.  Youn does things differently.  He zips through the Allegro ma non troppo, delivering a less beautiful take, obviously on purpose.  It's more about propulsive energy.  The Andante likewise gets played briskly, and somewhat unusually, Youn does not play with unlimited beauty, instead focusing on simplicity.  It works, but sounds colder than Volodos.  He closes things out with a crisp, light Menuetto.  He plays slightly against expectations in the sonata, but delivers.

D664 starts off the second disc of the set.  This sonata can never sound too beautiful, and Youn is just the guy to demonstrate that.  The listener need only wait until the first arpeggio to relish the insanely delicate touch he deploys, and he delivers the entire movement with an at times almost eerie steadiness.  The dynamics alter gently, and the music at times sounds serene to the point of near stasis, with time itself suspended as each note coaxes the listener's ear.  Allegro moderato has rare been so ideally moderate.  In the Andante, Youn ups the beauty and serenity even more.  Somehow.  As the music rises gently in volume to the climax, it sounds inevitable and while loud, it remains calm.  And then, Youn plays the concluding Allegro almost stupid beautiful to open.  He neither over- nor under-emphasizes the rhythmic component of the movement, keeping things moving along at a nice pace.  No one, and I mean no one, has delivered a better little A Major.  Next comes the cobbled together D571/604/570 sonata.  Right away, in the opener, the music sounds like the accompanying text is missing.  Youn plays with multiple, quiet levels at once, and he creates a sense of drama that makes me hope he ends up accompanying some equally accomplished singer in Schubert's song cycles.  In the middle, before the return of the opening material, Youn plays the melody with almost inhuman beauty.  The second "movement" does not really sound of a piece, of course, but Youn does his level best to make it fit, and he introduces a bit of left hand weight.  The last two movements blend in, and again Youn demonstrates his ability to play with ridiculous beauty in the concluding Allegro.  The set closes out with the A Minor D784 sonata.  This sonata fares best with a bit of bite and strength added into the mix.  Youn starts off the Allegro giusto with a dark, brooding austerity.  The left hand trill that leads to the first instance of loud playing sounds foreboding, but Youn ultimately does not deliver thundering playing.  For those demanding imposing fortissimo playing, Youn may disappoint, but the tradeoff is that the music sounds more controlled and desperate, yet restrained.  The Andante finds Youn playing with his customary beauty, and then the Allegro vivace finds Youn playing with more grit and drive, making it obvious that the opening movement sounds exactly the way he wants.  To be sure, others hit harder in this movement, too, it's just that everything here is what the pianist wants.  So, D784 does come off well, if not as comparatively well as the other sonatas on offer here.

Superb sound.

A purchase of the year.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

staxomega

Todd have you heard Lucchesini's Schubert Vol 3? It has an utterly fantastic D894 with similar sort of large scale approach he has used in the past.

Earlier in the week did a comparison of D958 with Lucchesini (Vol 3 Audite) and Piemontesi just because these came in within weeks of each other. Both are excellent, I am giving it to Piemontesi who never loses forward momentum. Piementesi has to be one of very finest I've heard. Both of these guys along with Volodos could certainly do with recording a whole lot more Schubert, the world would be better for it.

Sound quality on both is reference level as well but there is something about Piemontesi's recording you just want to listen to at recital levels from the first few rows.

This got me thinking to something Hurwitz always complains about is people clinging to their "old scratchy" historical recordings thinking they've never been bettered; while I have my fair share of them that could fill an entire room and continue to buy them I do see his point. With speakers with such great tonal color and timbral fidelity why rob yourself of listening to the best sounding recordings if the performances are great, this type of recorded sound gets you closer to the music.

Todd

Lucchesini's third volume is in my to-hear queue.  I expect Lucchesini quality results.

I long ago gave up on the notion that old warhorse recordings are the best.  For solo and chamber music, I typically prefer modern recordings (ie, 21st Century).  For some orchestral fare and a fair chunk of the opera repertoire, contemporary recordings may not always match up to the best from the 50s-90s, though. 

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

staxomega

Quote from: Todd on November 05, 2020, 02:10:15 PM
Lucchesini's third volume is in my to-hear queue.  I expect Lucchesini quality results.

I long ago gave up on the notion that old warhorse recordings are the best.  For solo and chamber music, I typically prefer modern recordings (ie, 21st Century).  For some orchestral fare and a fair chunk of the opera repertoire, contemporary recordings may not always match up to the best from the 50s-90s, though.

This is how I feel as well, there is a bit more anonymity with conductors/orchestras since a bit later into the digital recording era than what preceded that.

staxomega

Taken from the new releases thread, I've now made it up to D894 from this box. It's truly exceptional and I say this as someone that didn't find his Beethoven cycle as a whole to my taste.



Along with the Pascal Amoyel's Chopin Nocturnes set this Pienaar box will very easily be making my best of 2020 purchase list.

Mandryka

#114
Quote from: hvbias on December 04, 2020, 11:41:01 AM
Taken from the new releases thread, I've now made it up to D894 from this box. It's truly exceptional and I say this as someone that didn't find his Beethoven cycle as a whole to my taste.



Along with the Pascal Amoyel's Chopin Nocturnes set this Pienaar box will very easily be making my best of 2020 purchase list.

Boots on piano. The interpretations remind me of Trudelies Leonhardt, and even Erdmann - and I agree that it's interesting. He plays them like their dramatic songs. But really, to me the piano sounds such a crude instrument when he's playing it, monochromatic and harsh, maybe it's me, or the recording.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

staxomega

#115
Quote from: Mandryka on September 06, 2021, 04:05:59 AM
Boots on piano. The interpretations remind me of Trudelies Leonhardt, and even Erdmann - and I agree that it's interesting. He plays them like their dramatic songs. But really, to me the piano sounds such a crude instrument when he's playing it, monochromatic and harsh, maybe it's me, or the recording.

I listened to D537 and D568 as I saw some other complaints about the sound of the piano. I've listened to it on two different speakers and headphones and I'd have never thought there was something off about it had I not read the complaints. From the way people were describing the sound you'd think he was playing on a practice upright in a small corner room at a conservatory. I think the sound (and interpretations) is better than the Beethoven cycle. I don't really have a way to characterize the interpretations, I'm just glad they aren't weird as we don't have a lot of choice in the early sonatas.

Mandryka

Quote from: hvbias on September 15, 2021, 05:06:31 AM
I listened to D537 and D568 as I saw some other complaints about the sound of the piano. I've listened to it on two different speakers and headphones and I'd have never thought there was something off about it had I not read the complaints. From the way people were describing the sound you'd think he was playing on a practice upright in a small corner room at a conservatory. I think the sound (and interpretations) is better than the Beethoven cycle. I don't really have a way to characterize the interpretations, I'm just glad they aren't weird as we don't have a lot of choice in the early sonatas.

I think the issue is that timbre, tone quality, is not a big part of what he does. He does not dig deep into the piano's potential to produce subtle and complex sounds. So at that level it appears boots on piano. In conversation he's conceded this, and has also suggested that the quality of the pianos which are available to him aren't all to be desired.

The phrasing and touch is different, and there he may have things to say in Schubert, possibly interesting things.

(By the way, I've kind of put his Schubert to one side because I find myself enjoying exploring Pollini in these piano works.)
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

staxomega

#117
Quote from: Mandryka on September 15, 2021, 05:50:15 AM
I think the issue is that timbre, tone quality, is not a big part of what he does. He does not dig deep into the piano's potential to produce subtle and complex sounds. So at that level it appears boots on piano. In conversation he's conceded this, and has also suggested that the quality of the pianos which are available to him aren't all to be desired.

The phrasing and touch is different, and there he may have things to say in Schubert, possibly interesting things.

(By the way, I've kind of put his Schubert to one side because I find myself enjoying exploring Pollini in these piano works.)

Ah, thank you for expanding. I think I understand what you mean now, like the Beethoven cycle his tone isn't rich and I guess hand in hand richly-complex either. Both come across as a bit more midrange centric, that small scale approach was another thing that wasn't working for me in late Beethoven. For me Kempff is one of the very few small handful that can convincingly do that in late Beethoven.

I look forward to the Haydn cycle he hinted at, but after hearing performances like Paul Badura-Skoda Mozart Naive/Astree cycle or Brautigam in Haydn this is one I don't listen to much on modern piano anymore.

pianoforever

Quote from: Todd on September 15, 2017, 06:04:51 AM



Here's something that at least some piano music fans have waited many moons for: a full length disc of solo piano music by Krystian Zimerman.  It's Germanic core rep.  It's Schubert.  Oh, yes, please. 

Out of the gate, it's clear that Zimerman isn't shy about projecting his sound in this recording.  D959 starts with a robust Allegro.  Zimerman's forte playing is potent, but his touch remains nuanced and supremely controlled, aided by his customized piano.  Once the music starts, it never really lets up in terms of forward momentum.  At times, the playing almost soars more than sings, but sing it does, in a full-throated, heldentenor sort of way; this is more opera than introspective lieder.  Of course, with Zimerman, his command of voicing is supreme, and his ability to deliver accompaniment of unerring insistence or melody of exquisite lyricism is never in doubt for even one semiquaver.  In the Andantino, the first appearance of the first theme is solemn and lamenting, and almost evokes a perfect Winterreise sound, with the left hand the lonely accompanist and the right hand the forlorn singer.  The second theme transitions into a stormy fantasia, building up to thundering, nearly ear-splitting fortissimo playing that nonetheless never sounds ugly. He goes past even someone like Michel Dalberto in terms of power but never loses poise.  He plays with pneumatic steel fingers encased in the softest velvet gloves.  The second appearance of the first theme is more resigned and terse than in the beginning.  The Scherzo is beautifully pointed, rhythmically alert, and energetic, but it's sort of serious-light music in the outer sections, and almost just serious music in the middle section.  Finally, in the Rondo, Zimerman adopts a gentler, flowing sound, though even here it is projected.  It's like prime age Horowitz in that way, but, you know, good.  The development section and the coda find Zimerman playing with near full strength again, to riveting effect.  Superb.

D960 kicks off with a twenty minute and change Molto Moderato, yet even given its length it starts off sounding a bit quick, though flowing.  It's not especially dark as far as opening movements can go, and the first bass trill is somewhat small in scale and matter of fact.  As the movement continues, the playing imperceptibly changes.  Lyricism remains, but dark clouds gather.  Zimerman builds up tension until releasing it with a much more powerful second bass trill followed by a perfectly judged pause. The playing then takes on something of a sense of urgency rather than darkness.  Occasionally, during the development, one almost gets the sense that Zimerman is so enamored of the details, which he makes sure to present as pristinely as any human can, that the long arc of the movement gets lost.  Thing is, it doesn't.  It's sort of like the best of both the detail-oriented and architectural approaches, at least in some ways.  In my listening experience, interpreters tend to either focus on the first movement or the second (the second usually becoming the focus if the first movement repeat is omitted), and given Zimerman's take on the opening movement, that would have seemed to be the focus, but his playing in the Andante sostenuto calls that into question.  It largely possesses the darker, more solemn feel often experienced in the first movement, especially in the middle section.  Zimerman's playing is not always the most moving, but here it is.  It's just fabulous.  It almost makes the listener wish the sonata were structured like the B minor symphony.  The Scherzo offers a comparatively light and breezy contrast to the prior movement, with beautiful sound after beautiful sound emanating from the piano.  The Allegro ma nan troppo opens with a terse octave displaying the effect of the modified keyboard, which is repeated every time it occurs.  Zimerman plays the movement fairly quickly and in rather potent fashion, again projecting outward more than looking inward.  The tonal beauty and great flow more than offset that for me, but not everyone will agree.  Superb.  Again.

How do these versions stack up to the many other versions of both works out there?  Very well, indeed, but I don't know if I can say that Zimerman sets the standard for either sonata.  But then, that's sort of beside the point at this level.  There is no standard so much as there are great recordings.  Zimerman's Schubert is Zimerman's Schubert.  There's nothing else exactly like it, and even if one has quibbles with it, it is formidable, to say the least.  Zimerman's Schubert deserves to be compared against only the very best, and though my listening plans don't really have time for that, I just may end up doing it anyway.  I will write that one thing I do know is that in D959, in particular, Arcadi Volodos is out there now, playing it in recital, with a less than ideal pirated copy available on YouTube.  For those who might find Zimerman too assertive, almost aggressive, and not introspective enough, Volodos' darker poetry could be the ticket, if he ever decides to record it officially.  (The online comments and reviews have generally been highly laudatory, and even if one discounts them as too favorable due to a sort of rush from hearing them live, I have every reason to believe that the Russian can deliver a recorded D959 for the ages.) 

SOTA sound, but it's a bit different than normal.  Zimerman's customized piano, with a modified keyboard added to a normal (presumably Fabrinni) Steinway sounds magnificent.  The decays are typically quick, the sound clean and lovely and not as imposing or metallic as evident in even some other recordings by the pianist.  The tonal qualities are quite ear-catching.  The closest recent recorded equivalent in my experience is Roberto Prosseda's Mozart sonata twofer, where he uses a Fazioli tuned using Valloti unequal temperament.  The sound here is not quite that different from a Steinway, but it's obvious Zimerman had his piano tweaked to achieve a very specific sound.  Zimerman's breathing and vocalizing can frequently be heard, as can damper mechanism noise.  It's all just part of the fun.

I listened today to the Zimerman disc alongside Pollini's. Obviously, two divergent approaches to the sonatas. Yet in a way, similar strengths: impeccable technique, and a thoughtful idea of the structure of the pieces, albeit very different from each other's. This puts them in the category of (handful) giant contemporary pianists. Zimerman has the additional advantage of a unique piano tone, partly I suppose due to his "self made" instrument. His downside, depending on individual tastes, is a more controversial idea of the music, which personally I like (more than Volodos for example). I'd wish he recorded Beethoven's sonatas. All in all, two great discs!

staxomega

#119
Quote from: pianoforever on April 04, 2022, 01:55:53 AM
I listened today to the Zimerman disc alongside Pollini's. Obviously, two divergent approaches to the sonatas. Yet in a way, similar strengths: impeccable technique, and a thoughtful idea of the structure of the pieces, albeit very different from each other's. This puts them in the category of (handful) giant contemporary pianists. Zimerman has the additional advantage of a unique piano tone, partly I suppose due to his "self made" instrument. His downside, depending on individual tastes, is a more controversial idea of the music, which personally I like (more than Volodos for example). I'd wish he recorded Beethoven's sonatas. All in all, two great discs!

What do you find controversial about Zimerman? I gave this another listen (one of the very few new LPs I've bought in years) and thought the interpretations weren't all that elevated compared to the really great ones. Indeed it's a nice/unique piano/his tone.

Andrea Lucchesini released three volumes of Schubert discs, they might be worth exploring. He has also been performing a lot again in Italy, consider me jealous of where you live :)