Franz Schubert

[Leo K.]

I've been drawn to Piano Sonata in C Minor, D.958 lately, and listening to many piano and fortepiano recordings. For some reason this sonata was the last of the 'last three' I didn't really "get" yet, but that has changed. Does anyone have favorites of this work?

[Mandryka]

I've been drawn to Piano Sonata in C Minor, D.958 lately, and listening to many piano and fortepiano recordings. For some reason this sonata was the last of the 'last three' I didn't really "get" yet, but that has changed. Does anyone have favorites of this work?

[Mandryka]

I've been drawn to Piano Sonata in C Minor, D.958 lately, and listening to many piano and fortepiano recordings. For some reason this sonata was the last of the 'last three' I didn't really "get" yet, but that has changed. Does anyone have favorites of this work?

This is Lonquich's first recording. Very different from Erdmann.

[Mandryka]

I've been drawn to Piano Sonata in C Minor, D.958 lately, and listening to many piano and fortepiano recordings. For some reason this sonata was the last of the 'last three' I didn't really "get" yet, but that has changed. Does anyone have favorites of this work?

This is my favourite fortepiano performance, Trudelies Leonhardt

https://open.spotify.com/track/55uQV4mbwUhD1Twtiy3WYJ

Pollini also very impressive

Sokolov in 2007 is full of ideas  - coherent and moving too -  I can imagine some people would love it. Richter recorded it twice - Japan and Hungary - rather different in some ways.

[Que]

Just thinking of 959, there's Olga Tverskaya, Tobias Koch,  Andras Staier , Paul Badura Skoda, Bilson, T. Leonhatdt, Tan and John Kouhri too.

A good reminder that I should investigate Malcolm Bilson's Schubert now it is available streaming!
Badura-Skoda: someone recently said that his Schubert is not as good as his Beethoven, and that's exactly it. Trudelies Leonhardt is dedicated, but in a dutiful way..

[Mandryka]

Trudelies Leonhardt is dedicated, but in a dutiful way..

Well, it's like all these things, sometimes it catches you in the right frame of mind and seems perfect.

958 is difficult, I'm not convinced anyone does a more satisfying job than than Leonhardt. That being said, I just noticed that the youtube I posted is not the same as the recording I have. It may not be so good. Try this

https://open.spotify.com/track/55uQV4mbwUhD1Twtiy3WYJ

[Leo K.]

Thanks Mandryka for these considerations, I shall listen to these today!

[AnotherSpin]

This is my favourite fortepiano performance, Trudelies Leonhardt

https://open.spotify.com/track/55uQV4mbwUhD1Twtiy3WYJ

Pollini also very impressive

Sokolov in 2007 is full of ideas  - coherent and moving too -  I can imagine some people would love it. Richter recorded it twice - Japan and Hungary - rather different in some ways.

I was never a fan of Sokolov until I heard him live in Germany. After that I became a big afficionado.

[lordlance]

I'm listening to Drei Klavierstucke, D. 946 from Andreas Staier and the fortepiano sounds far better than all of the other ones I've heard. It might sound like a strange complaint but it doesn't sound clanky at all which makes me suspicious if it's a fortepiano because it sounds too rich for a fortepiano 

Any idea why this one sounds so much better than so many other fortepianos?

[Leo K.]

I am really impressed with Lonquich's second recording of D.958. Also really enjoyed Mandryka's recommendations, and see I will have to explore Erdmann more.

[Mandryka]

 


This is Trudelies Leonhardt's recording of D960 on Globe -- I very much like her performance on Jecklin.

The Globe CD features a performance of some of Schubert's sketches for the sonata.

Has anyone heard this CD?  What do you make of it?

[AaronSF]

I'm listening to Drei Klavierstucke, D. 946 from Andreas Staier and the fortepiano sounds far better than all of the other ones I've heard. It might sound like a strange complaint but it doesn't sound clanky at all which makes me suspicious if it's a fortepiano because it sounds too rich for a fortepiano 

Any idea why this one sounds so much better than so many other fortepianos?

Yes, it is a particularly good fortepiano, about which the YouTube notes say the following: "Hammerklavier (Johann Fritz, Vienna ca.1825) Viennese action, four pedals: una corda, moderator 1 and 2, forte. Triple-strung, except the last 4 tones. Length 245 cm. CC-g''''."  I've heard other fortepianos from this time period that did not have half the richness and sustain of this instrument.  The fact that it is triple strung through most of the treble probably has something to do with it.  ...Nice performance, too.  As interesting as it is, I still prefer hearing Schubert on a modern instrument.

[Mandryka]

I've finally realised what hammerless piano playing means. It means playing where the attack is barely audible, so the notes appear to have no source. Uchida can do that and it makes her D840 stand out from the crowd (in a good way IMO) of modern piano performances. Shame she didn't record the Debussy preludes and indeed Feldman's late piano music.

[André]

I don't know Erdmann's D 958, so thanks for the link. I have his D960, a version unlike any other. He makes the first movement's Molto moderato a feverish confession but never sounds rushed. I'll listen to this 958 with great interest.

[Mandryka]

I have his D960, a version unlike any other. He makes the first movement's Molto moderato a feverish confession but never sounds rushed.

Well put! He recorded D960 twice . The one from 1944 here is particularly feverish in the first movement

https://open.spotify.com/track/2arMo2odT4bIz7qGtzE5XL?si=5724ec7906d8453a

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eduard-Erdmann-Vol-3/dp/B00005B9B4

(I think they're the same.)

[Spotted Horses]

I found the Tahra release on Apple Music and listened to the first movement. It is remarkable. Not much available in the form or recording data. Radio transcripts from the early 50's?

[Mandryka]

Radio transcripts from the early 50's?

Try Ben Pienaar -- same directness and absence of sentimentality. His 840 is totally astonishing.

The Orfeo recording of D960 on the spotify link has a better transfer than the Tahra IMO, and as I said I think it's the same performance.

I read somewhere that he and Schnabel were known for advocating Schubert sonatas at a time when they were hardly played, and EMI considered asking both of them to record the music. Schnabel got the contract -- apparently Erdmann was profoundly shy and that may have had something to do with it. The result is that Schnabel's conception is a sort of "benchmark" and Erdmann's is largely forgotten. 

[André]

Erdmann was a composer of great ability. I have a few discs of his orchestral music. CPO has championed him (well, they do that with every obscure composer, but still).

Here's the D960 I have. The recording date is April 1950.





NB: EDUARD Erdmann is not to be confused with his namesake DIETRICH Erdmann. The latter is also a fine composer I discovered a few years back, writing in a totally different idiom. He is one generation younger than Eduard.

[San Antone]

A new recording called Schubert Reimagined from Josephine Knight (cello) in which Schubert works are transcribed for a vaiety of instruments and voices, mostly to good effect.



"Schubert Reimagined," is a unique new album revitalising the music of Franz Schubert, featuring renowned cellist Josephine Knight, alongside the highly sought-after vocal group The Gesualdo Six, pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips and Timothy Jones on horn. The carefully curated repertoire includes the slow movement from Schubert's poignant String Quintet D.956, arranged for cello and The Gesualdo Six; the expressive Sonata for cello and piano in A minor 'Arpeggione' D. 821; and captivating Schubert songs delivered through innovative arrangements by Timothy Jones. The album showcases the unique blend of cello and horn, instruments with close proximity to the textures of the human voice, providing a natural musical partnership. With a special rendition of the iconic C major string quintet's slow movement featuring The Gesualdo Six, along with other masterpieces, Josephine Knight weaves a narrative that transcends traditional boundaries, creating a seamless amalgamation of singers and instrumentalists. (Presto)

[calyptorhynchus]

A new recording called Schubert Reimagined from Josephine Knight (cello) in which Schubert works are transcribed for a vaiety of instruments and voices, mostly to good

"Schubert Reimagined," is a unique new album revitalising the music of Franz Schubert, featuring renowned cellist Josephine Knight, alongside the highly sought-after vocal group The Gesualdo Six, pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips and Timothy Jones on horn. The carefully curated repertoire...

Or 'chosen' as we say in English.