Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 784 & 959

Albumbeschreibung

Pianist Eric Lu has been the talk of Britain, with a win at the Leeds International Piano Competition and a highly praised Wigmore Hall debut, not to mention a concert with the 91-year-old Alfred Brendel (who read poetry). With this Warner Classics release, his sophomore album, he delivers on his promise. Lu faces a great deal of competition in the two Schubert piano sonatas featured here, but he delivers absolutely distinctive interpretations. His Piano Sonata in A major, D. 959, is one of the most deliberate on recordings, clocking in at close to 48 minutes as compared with an average of just over 39. It is a risky strategy for a young pianist, but Lu fills the spaces convincingly, drawing a remarkable variety of textures and timbres from his keyboard. The slow movement is absolutely haunting, with the smallest details unpacked by Lu into meditative mini-discourses. After the little-heard Allegretto in C minor, D. 915, as an entr'acte, Lu offers the Piano Sonata in A minor, D. 784, cut from the same cloth, and by the time the program is over, the listener has the feeling of having been on quite a journey. This release suggests once again that listeners are in the presence of a major artist.

© James Manheim /TiVo