Schubert: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 4

Album review

The fourth installment in Vladimir Feltsman's survey on Nimbus of Franz Schubert's piano sonatas pairs the Sonata in A minor, D. 784 with the Sonata in A major, D. 959, inviting comparisons and speculation about the composer's emotional states. The brooding melancholy of D. 784 might be expected of one of the final sonatas, but in 1823 Schubert had yet to feel the full effects of his fatal illness and still had reason to hope for a favorable prognosis, so the dark tone of this piece doesn't necessarily speak to his frame of mind, nor does it match the fragile despair of the Andantino in D. 959, composed in 1828, two months before his death. Yet Schubert's penultimate sonata also shows his sunny side in its optimistic opening movement, the sprightly scherzo, and the joyous rondo at its close, moods that are constrained in D. 784. In any case, Feltsman's carefully shaded interpretations account for the shifts in expression and the sudden mood swings that are characteristic of Schubert, making this volume one of the most successful in this praiseworthy series. Nimbus provides clean sound that captures every detail in a fairly responsive acoustic.

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