Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21, Fantasie & Marche militaire No. 1

Album review

Over his long and distinguished career, Philippe Entremont has frequently performed music of the great Viennese composers, though he has seldom recorded music by Franz Schubert, only offering rare recordings of the Trout Quintet and the Symphony No. 9 in C major, "The Great" in 2006. He admits that his interest in Schubert was limited early in his career, but he has come to appreciate the music and made it a part of his personal repertoire. Even so, he had to wait years until he felt the time was right to record the Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major, D. 960. It has become one of Entremont's touchstones, and this 2018 release on Solo Musica suggests that he has internalized the work to his satisfaction and given it a distinctly Romantic interpretation, in keeping with the approach to Schubert he knew in his youth. To the extent that listeners might want a subjective reading with plenty of rubato and a feeling of private reverie, this performance may have some appeal. The filler pieces for piano four-hands, the Fantasie in F minor, D. 940 and the Marche Militaire No. 1 in D major, D. 733, are performed by Entremont with pianist Gen Tomuro, and the tempos and close coordination provide a contrast to the introspection of the sonata, likely because of the collaborative effort.
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