Decca 478 3018 (9 CDs), DDD
I HAVE personally had a long fascination with the piano art of Hungarian-born András Schiff [b.1953]. I fell head-over-heals with his Bach concerto recordings on Hungaroton, later re-recorded for Decca. It was the Hungaroton recordings that had me on the edge of the seat, however. Then his Schumann came along for ECM, which I thought to be outstanding. Also for ECM he recorded the complete Beethoven cello works with his compratiot, Miklos Perenyi, another "must have" of these great works. As the box blurb notes above, András Schiff is well known for his Schubert, as he should well be among the great pianists before us today.
So, if one is going to expand the Schubert sonatas collection (and them some of the other repertoire as well), where do we go? Any of the Schubert recorded by Alfred Brendel for the Vox label was among the best my ears experienced of those pianists living today. Most of Brendel's Philips recordings did not touch me in the same manner, however. I have the DGG Kempff set and several other complete sets and many individual recordings of much of Schubert's output. Some pianists from the past provided some of the best Schubert-listening I have encountered, including Artur Schnabel, Clara Haskil (the Bb Op. Posth. Sonata), Rudolf Serkin (Op. Posth sonatas for Columbia-Sony), and Adrian Aeschbacher, whose outstanding piano work was introduced to me by CMG's Werner Isler. Son Donald Isler has reissued some of Aeschbacher's Schumann and Schubert on his own KASP label. Therefore, over a long period of time, ears become "conditioned" to great interpretations of that master's music.
The first piece I chose to hear was the Hungarian Melody in B Minor, almost four minutes of one of Schubert's most haunting melodies for piano solo. I expected a really heartfelt and touching performance, but was somewhat put of by the sound of Schiff's Bösendorfer concert grand piano, which had a rather pungent pungent-non-singing quality two octaves above middle C. Here, Brendel wins hands down on the recorded performance of this miniature of Schubert's. Inasmuch as Schiff's Schubert recordings were made between 1988 and 1993 at two different locations in Vienna by four different sound engineers, which may account for the variances in sound no doubt produced on various pianos over that time frame made by the great Viennese house of Bösendorfer.
It may be a little unfair to listen to "snippets" of the various sonatas, but I do this because I am looking for certain effects I have come to enjoy from other performances by pianists ... the beauty of Clara Haskil's trills in the left-hand of the opening of the B-flat, Op. Posth. sonata, for example, or the grandness of Rudfolf Serkin in the opening movement of the A Major, Op. Posth. sonata. It would be, of course, next to impossible to analyze 20 sonatas in this space, and all the accompanying works in this boxed set because each one of us will be looking for something different if we particularly love these works.
While Schubert's piano music—or at least the best of the sonatas—were composed just before he passed away at age 31, I often feel the greatness of his music in pianists who have absorbed and mastered this music over a period of many years. There is just so much sensitivity and built-in beauty in Schubert's music that not everyone approaches it to your every wish - as it should be.
This new Decca budget-priced set is a winner in many ways and should certainly be considered if you are seeking complete sets of the sonatas, impromptus, and other works. Schiff does give us that special warmth of feeling in most of Schubert's music that I find in Brendel's early Vox recordings (and perhaps the later Philips recordings). Thus you will find certain sonatas and pieces within this boxed set that will touch your musical soul while others may offer less in this manner. As Impromptus go, I have yet to hear complete sets that I enjoy—from a piano tone and interpretive perspective—more than those by Edwin Fischer and his pupil, Alfred Brendel (on Vox). And the Moments musicaux had among its greatest interpretations on a Columbia LP (mono only) later issued on CD by Rudolf Serkin. I still await, with great anticipation, Friedrich Wührer's complete set of sonatas that appeared on Vox (mono-only) recordings years ago. I still keep in pristine condition those original LPs. Inasmuch as Tahra has reissued Wührer's Beethoven, it is hopeful they will offer the Schubert. I know many piano aficionados who feel that Wührer gives the best overall "Viennese" interpretation of these sonatas.
This Decca boxed set recently arrived and I may be a bit premature in this appraisal so far, but often first hearings are the most honest. Also, you should shop around to get this set at the best price, usually less than $35/USD including post. The accompanying booklet has excellent notes by Jeremy Siepmann. ♪
