Franz Schubert

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Hi, Schubert fans, favorite piano works set?

I'm seeing a few names that I'm a little unfamiliar such as Leonskaja, Zacharias, and Dalberto. I do own several single discs from Uchida, Brendal, Wosner, and Richter, but there are some earlier sonatas I'd like to get and I'm always up for duplicates of some of my favorites.

Any thoughts? Much appreciated!

Some favorites:

This Uchida set:



PD

EDIT:  Whoopsie!  I just deleted a couple of postings as I see this thread is just about his sonatas.  Let me know whether or not you're interested in me reposting them.

[amw]

I'd love to hear more recordings of the G major sonata, D894. I only have one, Marta Deyanova's gargantuan, Brucknerian reading on Nimbus (clocking in at 17 seconds short of an hour  ) and I think I owe it to myself to hear a more "normal" take. It's a beautiful work.

D894 depends heavily on the soft and moderator pedals, which produced effects impossible to replicate on the modern piano. The best overall recordings are on period instruments: Yasuyo Yano, who is on the slow side, and Schiff (ECM) who is closer to average. Andreas Staier is also worth hearing, as are most of the other period instrument performances.

For modern instruments, Eduard Erdmann's performance is necessary to hear, even though most people probably won't like it; it offers a very different perspective on the music.

[TheGSMoeller]

Thank you for all the recs, friends. I certainly have a lot of exploring to do now.

I did purchase the Elisabeth Leonskaja set (see pic below), 6 cds and very good reviews for $20 brand new was a no-brainer.

[mabuse]

Hi, Schubert fans, favorite piano works set?

I'm seeing a few names that I'm a little unfamiliar such as Leonskaja, Zacharias, and Dalberto. I do own several single discs from Uchida, Brendal, Wosner, and Richter, but there are some earlier sonatas I'd like to get and I'm always up for duplicates of some of my favorites.

Any thoughts? Much appreciated!

I have a great love for Ingrid Haebler artistry :
   

(I am also glad to see that she is still with us ... 92 years old this year!)

[Artem]

I'm in the mood for Piano Sonata No.13 in A major D 664. Does anyone have a favourite recording of this work? Any thoughts on this one?

[Mandryka]

I'm in the mood for Piano Sonata No.13 in A major D 664. Does anyone have a favourite recording of this work?[/img]

Erdmann possibly.

https://www.youtube.com/v/G4bNK6r6zdc

[Rinaldo]

Off-Schubert:

Schubert Gone Wild

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/schubert-gone-wild/?search=1

A year later I'm mesmerized, thanks for this Jens. It's far from perfect but the beauty of the original songwriting shines through as new. Who would've thought that Schubert and 'Andalusian' plucking would be such a delightful match? Not me, that's for sure. I'd heartily recommend this record to anyone seeking an entry point into the romantics – or classical music in general.

[Maestro267]

Why have we not agreed on a proper numbering system for Schubert's piano sonatas? It'd be so much easier to know what I'm looking for beyond the last three which I know to be 19-21, and maybe 18 in G. Beyond that I'm lost. Like there are so many A minor sonatas.

[Jo498]

I think there is a somewhat standard numbering of the sonatas (fairly stupid because it counts all the fragmentary sonatas) but even better there are unique 3 digit Deutschverzeichnis numbers. There are 3 a minor sonatas D 537, D 784 and D 845. I had to look up the other numbers 4, 14 and 16.
It's best to count backwards because the early sonatas are a bit of a mess with some fragments rarely played/recorded

21 D 960 Bb major
20 D 959 A major
19 D 958 c minor
18 D 894 G major
17 D 850 D major
16 D 845 a minor
15 D 840 C major "Reliquie" (fragment)
14 D 784 a minor
13 D 664 A major

the first dozen is a mess I usually ignore and where the numberings gets also messy, except for Deutschnumbers

12 ?
11 D 625 f minor
10
9 D 575 B major
8
7 D 568 Eb najor
6 D 566 e minor
5 D 557 Ab major
4 D 537 a minor
3 D 459/495A E major, maybe just a bunch of pieces
2 D 279 C major
1 D 157 E major

[amw]

8 is D567/568b in Db major (which isn't really a separate sonata from D568; the music is the same except for being in a different key and lacking the minuet). 9 is D570/571 (unfinished), 10 is D575, 11 is D612/613 (unfinished), 12 is D625. This numbering system is in fact entirely illogical (Badura-Skoda only recognises 20 sonatas in his two cycles, but apparently this has yet to catch on) and should probably be abandoned, since it doesn't account for other, even-more-unfinished fragments like D655 and D769A. (Possibly some numbering systems that correctly discount D567, and instead use 8 for 570/571, 9 for 575, 10 for 612/613 and 11 for 625, are considering D655 to be "12" even though it's only about two minutes of music.)

I would just say: 1 = D157, 2 = D279/346, 3 = D459 (the textual evidence for it being a sonata is limited, but it kinda-sorta makes sense as one), 4 = D537, 5 = D557, 6 = D566/606, 7 = D568, 8 = D575, 9 = D664, 10 = D784, 11 = D845, 12 = D850, 13 = D894, 14 = D958, 15 = D959 and 16 = D960. The unfinished ones don't need numbers, and this way we get a nice round number of 16 sonatas, half Beethoven's official total.

[Biffo]

I usually ignore the numbers and go by the D (Deutsch) numbers, I am sure I have some recordings that only use D numbers.

[Jo498]

I usually ignore the numbers and go by the D (Deutsch) numbers, I am sure I have some recordings that only use D numbers.

Same here, I was hardly aware of any cardinal sonata numbers except for the last 3-4 and even there I prefer D numbers. Same with Mozart and K numbers and Beethoven and opus numbers (at least for piano and chamber music, the Beethoven trio numbering is also weird and best avoided in favor of opus numbers or WoO for two or three minor pieces).

[Brahmsian]

I usually ignore the numbers and go by the D (Deutsch) numbers, I am sure I have some recordings that only use D numbers.

Same here. I'm purely a D number guy when it comes to Schubert.

[Maestro267]

I've wound up with the Uchida set posted at the top of this page and is it safe to assume the D numbers are vaguely chronological?

[Jo498]

yes, although with such close proximity as 577, 566, 568 or 958-60 I am not sure how exact that chronology is. There are some blunders in the D numbers, though, the most relevant the Great C major that was not composed in 1828 but in all probability already 1825 but this is the only grossly misleading D number I can think of right now.

[amw]

At least one and possibly all three of the pieces in D946, the Drei Klavierstücke, was written in 1825-1826 and not 1828 with the other D940s. This is also I think fairly obvious from the style (as with the Great C major).

[Mandryka]

I've always said that Schubert is my contemporary. This is from Seth Brodsky's book From 1989

[staxomega]

I've always said that Schubert is my contemporary. This is from Seth Brodsky's book From 1989

Hmm yes, there is certainly much there to Schubert's music, he is one of those composers; encapsulating what it is to be human. Lovely to see Rendering mentioned, Berio is another composer I feel a strong kinship with.

[Mandryka]

I'm listening to this 537 sonata given the once over by Afanassiev here

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ozHZ6-_jQ

I believe this is very early - 1817 is what I read.

Anyway Afanassiev makes it sound like a dream, a nightmare almost, with those insistant repeated short motifs. Certainly a performance which elevates the music into something remarkable for me, a performance I'll be revisiting.

[SonicMan46]

Currently going through my Schubert collection - just listened to Hurwitz on Symphony Cycles and he puts Bloomstedt, Wand, & Muti at the top of 16 or so sets discussed; the Bloomstedt reviews are quite good (minor complaints about age of the recordings and sound) - currently, I own the first 3 cycles below and just ordered the Bloomstedt (will 'cull out' Kertesz) from Amazon (only $20 Prime).

This afternoon, I perused this thread and plenty 'symphony' comments were posted - Immerseel seems to be favored in the PI category; for MI performances, recordings go back over a half century (e.g. Kertesz) - not sure if much 'new' has been released as to complete sets?  Dave