schuberts last 2 piano sonatas

[alocispepraluger102]

anyone partial to them? can we find time for them and a space quiet enough to hear them?

[mikeweil]

You gotta spare some time and give yourself in to the music. Someone talked of "himmlische Längen" (heavenly lengths) regarding Schubert's sometimes very long movements.

My favourite recording is this:

Jos Van Immerseel on a Tröndlin fortepiano in excellent condition (the CD title means "Goodbye to a friend").

The label has only a few copies left, so hurry - you can only order from them directly:

NorthWest Classics

Recording quality is just as great. It's an enhanced CD with some info viewable on your computer.

Very intimate and poetic music.

Edited February 1, 2007 by mikeweil

[Guy Berger]

I don't like these as much as Beethoven's sonatas... That said, the first movement of the last Schooby sonata is really great.

Guy

[Chuck Nessa]

Really "hearing" 960, courtesy of Schnabel was a major event in my life. Thanks Franz and Artur.

[Spontooneous]

Addendum to what Chuck said: After hearing nearly a dozen other performances of 960 and loving some, I finally heard Schnabel. Now no other will do.

[mikeweil]

Mike-- damn, i never even saw that! i like most Jos, tho' I've not had the $$$ to follow all his orchestral sides on Zig Zag. have you heard many of 'em?

I have most of Immerseel's CDs of the last twenty years, with less than five exceptions (the Strauss, which is on my buying list, and some Mozart concertos that I have nice versions of). Those ZigZag CDs are all worth the money.

As for Schubert, I stepped on this CD purely by accident - go for it, it's worth every cent. And they really have only a handful of copies left - I actually wonder it's still there, as it was close to being sold out two years ago when I found it. Staier is great, too, but he's less poetic than Immerseel.

Saw Staier in concert last week - Schumann - and live he's a little more spontaneous. He strives so much for perfection that on the CDs it can get a little too perfect.

Immerseel's Schubert Trios on SONY Vivarte with Bylsma and Beths are beautiful, too.

Edited February 2, 2007 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

On a modern piano (a 1923 Bösendorfer), Paul Badura-Skoda's recording on Harmonic Records (an extinct audiophile label from Paris) is my favourite - hard to find, though .......

[gnhrtg]

I agree on Richter. I also like Lupu and, especially, Sokolov (for D960; D959 not on record yet, I think, I heard him play it in concert once and have another concert recording).