

Some here and now Schubert from two different pianists. Ran Jia’s studio recordings have been limited thus far to a couple Schubert discs, one on RCA, and one work of one of her father’s works on Naxos. All three of those are most excellent, so when she released this private label set, I had to have it. It took a while to get and ended up involving some email exchanges with the pianist directly, and she was very pleasant in the exchanges. Jia’s overall style focuses less on mellifluousness and beauty and has some grit, which is a perfectly fine way to deliver Schubert. It must be noted that this cycle was recorded live in a private residence and on some evenings at least one of the audience members was a small child with a cold or allergies. In addition to extraneous noise, the recorded sound is not top notch, with congested forte and fortissimo, and studio clarity also goes missing. On the plus side, this very much documents what Jia sounds like in person.
Then there’s Pienaar. His Beethoven cycle rates as one of the greats, but I dislike his Mozart. What ends up intense, brisk, engaging, and enlightening in the German’s music ends up crushing the Austrian’s. Pienaar’s often intense playing could do something similar to Schubert’s works, though Pienaar is by no means limited to one style. His brilliant twofer
The Long 17th Century contains dozens of small pieces that demonstrate a more delicate, nuanced, and rhythmically varied touch. Were he to bring that to Schubert, along with his intense style, well then, we’re talking. (I’ve not yet listened to Pienaar’s Bach, Gibbons, or Chopin.) Pienaar is very much a pianist of ideas, and he seems to elicit some divided opinions, which is fine. It can make for enlightening listening, even if the results are not so good.
To Schubert:
D537Jia – Jia’s earlier studio Schubert falls more into the hard-hitting variety, and while she always plays in attractive fashion, she goes after something different. So it is here. This early work has a brisk feel, though remains light until the speedy, almost rushed Allegro vivace, which lacks rhythmic flexibility.
Pienaar – Pienaar goes for the fast and jittery and highly interventionist style from the start, with outsize accents and more pronounced rubato. His forte playing sounds strident and aggressive, while his mezzo forte playing sounds merely aggressive. In the slow movement, Pienaar slows down, but the almost lurching style sounds like a caricature of the music, something highlighted in the at times crazy fast closing movement. Caricatures can entertain mightily and reveal heretofore hidden aspects of the original subject.