Title: 6 Moments Musicaux; Piano Sonata in C minor, D958 Performers: Radu Lupu Year: 1981 Length: 31 minutes
Review
This is the first of the three last Schubert sonatas that we will have on this list. Then it's curtain for Schub. Syphilis is bad. These sonatas are well known for their introspective nature, for that same reason they are sometimes not as accessible as other works by Schubert.
The fact that the sonata takes a little bit of getting used to should not be taken against it, in fact it is nothing if not beautiful, it just doesn't really have a hook to it.
The four movements go through a great variety of emotions, often conflicting but always deeply felt much like in any other Schubert work. So very good, but not as great and perfect as the impromptus.
Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Sonata in C minor, D. 958
Allegro. The exposition shifts from the tonic to the relative major (E-flat major), touching midway upon its parallel minor (E-flat minor), all in accordance with Classical practice. The development section is highly chromatic, and is texturally and melodically distinct from the exposition. The recapitulation is once again traditional, staying in the tonic and stressing subdominant tonalities (D-flat, the lowered second degree – in the first theme). The coda returns to the material of the development section, but with stable tonality.
Adagio in A-flat major, A–B–A–B–A form. The unorthodox, chromatic harmonic structure of this movement is generated from a short progression that appears towards the end of the A section,leading to a plagal cadence in the subdominant key (D-flat), chromatically colored with its own minor subdominant chord (G-flat minor). This leads to the haunted atmosphere of the B section, which is full of chromatic modulations and 'frightening' sforzandos. In the second appearance of the A and B sections, almost the entire music is shifted a semitone up. The 'kernel' progression returns transformed at the end of the movement, with even subtler chromatic coloration and harsher modulations, leading from A-flat minor to C major. Throughout the entire movement, brisk modulations of a rising or falling semitone predominate.
Menuetto: Allegro – Trio. This is a somber movement, quite distinct from the typical atmosphere of dance movements. It is relatively conservative in its key scheme, moving to the relative major key and back to the tonic. In the B section, a sequence of hemiolas is interrupted by a dramatic interpolation in A-flat major. The second A section is a transformation of the first, interrupted every four bars by a silent bar, creating a mysterious atmosphere. The trio is in A-flat major, ternary form.
Allegro. This movement is written in 6/8 and in tarantella style, and is characterised by a relentless galloping rhythm. It employs the three-key exposition, a recurrent element in Schubert's style. The first theme shifts from C minor to C major – another Schubertian feature, and contains many allusions to D-flat major, which eventually becomes the key of the second theme. After a series of modulations, the exposition ends in the traditional relative major, E-flat. The development section begins in C-flat with a new theme, derived from the last bars of the exposition. Later on, additional material from the exposition is developed, gradually building up towards a climax. The recapitulation is also written in three keys, this time the second theme in B-flat minor and the closing section in the traditional tonic. The coda begins with a long anticipatory passage which stresses A-flat, the submediant, and then reintroduces the first theme, gradually building up tension towards the fortissimo ending.
We're still with Schubert during his long drawn-out death. Now we get his last songs, which have been appropriately named "Swan Song", not by Schubert of course, these were published posthumously.
We had heard several of these before, right when Schubert first appeared on this list in a recording of his lieder. Interestingly some of his best songs are in this collection, such as Die Taubenpost or Der Doppelgänger, which make the death of Schubert all the worse, as he was just getting better at writing songs.
As always Schubert's songs are not the happiest of affairs, particularly at this point in his life, nonetheless they are each one beautiful. Unlike Die Schone Mullerin or Winterreise these songs do not form a cohesive narrative whole, at least they were never intended to, but this takes nothing away from the great works that they are.
Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Taubenpost ("Pigeon post"; the song that is often considered as a last lied that Schubert ever wrote. The song is included into a cycle by the first editor and is almost always included in modern performances too even though the song has no any relationship to others)
Title: The Hollywood String Quartet: Testament Performers: The Hollywood String Quartet, Kurt Reher Year: 1951 Length: 45 minutes
Review
We come to Schubert's last chamber work, a quintet which has lived on through time not only due to its quality but by being the last chamber work of the master of chamber music: Schubert.
In this way plenty of interpretations extraneous to the music have been made, trying to gauge Schubert's attitude before death, but that is material for other people, let's just talk about the music, as it is worthy without need for anything else.
This is yet another great chamber work by Schubert, the great highlight being the slow movement, a beautiful work of quiet desperation, so yet another Schubert essential to add to your classic music library.
Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Schubert's string quintet was inspired by Mozart's third string quintet and Beethoven's Quintet op. 29, written in the same key, as well as similar quintets by George Onslow. The instrumentation is reminiscent of Onslow, who used a double bass in some of his quintets. The opening theme of Schubert's work has retained many of the characteristics of the Mozart quintet's opening theme, such as decorative turns, irregular phrase lengths, and rising staccato arpeggios (the latter appear only in Schubert's recapitulation).
Title: BBC Legends: Boult Performers: BBC Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Adrian Boult Year: 1969 Length: 54 minutes
Review
Firsat two things: sorry about the tiny image, and the numbering of Schubert's Symphonies is very dodgy indeed, so it is possible to find this symphony with all kinds of numbers. The epithet of "Great" is constant however, and that is due not only to its length but first and foremost to the grandiosity of it all.
This is one of those symphonies which are effective in that most childish part of each of us which likes pomp, and excitement in their music, with its brass and percussion very prominent throughout and particularly in the grand finale.
That being said this is not a symphony solely made out of bombast, in fact it is its nuances that make it so good, the way that it goes down to more emotive subjects before jumping into powerful epicness and then returning to the softer parts. It is so contrasting at times that you keep fiddling with your sound volume, to listen to the quiet better and then not to wake up the neighbours. I hate neighbours. Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
There continues to be some controversy over the numbering of this symphony, with German-speaking scholars sometimes numbering it as symphony No. 7, the most recent version of the Deutsch catalog (the standard catalogue of Schubert's works, compiled by Otto Erich Deutsch) listing it as No. 8, and English-speaking scholars often listing it as No. 9. Many American orchestras have dropped the numbering altogether since the mid-1980s and in printed programs merely title it the "Great" C-major Symphony.
Title: Mozart: Sonata for 2 pianos in D Major, k.448, Schubert: Fantasy for Piano 4 Hands in f minor, D. 940 Performers: Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu Year: 1984 Length: 19 minutes
Review
Another short piece by Schubert, who is now very near the end of his life. Schubert composed an immense amount of piano duets and these vary greatly in terms of quality, but this one is generally recognised as one of his best works for the genre.
It is a great work, in a single movement of 19 minutes, almost like a suite, Schubert travels the gamut of variations for the themes he selected for the fantasy. It starts very slow and builds up from there before eventually dwindling back down to the beginning theme.
This use of a single movement permits Schubert to make the work much more consistent throughout as a unified whole. This is something that he has been doing even in his multi-movement pieces and which is to me one of the great developments by Schubert, the notion of cohesion between several elements of a work. This is something that Beethoven had already done but which Schubert develops with great success.
Final Grade 9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna. The work was completed in March of that year, and first performed in May. Schubert's friend Eduard von Bauernfeld recorded in his diary on May 9 that a memorable duet was played, by Schubert and Franz Lachner. The work was dedicated to Karoline Esterházy, with whom Schubert was in (unrequited) love.
Schubert passed away in November 1828. After his death, his friends and family undertook to have a number of his works published. This work is one of those pieces; it was published by Anton Diabelli in March 1829. The original manuscript resides at the Austrian National Library.
Maria Joao Pires and Ricardo Castro play the Fantasy (excerpt):
Title: The European Busch-Serkin Duo Recordings Vol. III Performers: Adolf Busch & Rudolf Serkin Year: 1931 Length: 22 minutes
Review
These very old recordings sometimes work better than others, but there is a constant in the violin playing: it is markedly different from more modern performances, it always sounds more gypsy-like, with a thinner sound.
This is particularly noticeable in the second movement of this recording, it gives the music an interesting flavour, however, and the muffled quality of the recording does give its own ambience to the music. In this sense it is not very faithful to Schubert's vision, he was surely not imagining the contingencies of recording technology when composing, but it is charming.
As a piece, this fantasy is not really in my top ten Schubert pieces, it is fun and all but it doesn't touch me in the way that Schubert so often does. Nonetheless it is a great bit of music with some quite flashy performances both in the piano and violin.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
In 1897, the 100th anniversary of Schubert's birth was marked in the musical world by festivals and performances dedicated to his music. In Vienna, there were ten days of concerts, and the Emperor Franz Joseph gave a speech recognizing Schubert as the creator of the art song, and one of Austria's favorite sons. Karlsruhe saw the first production of his opera Fierrabras.
Title: The Piano Trios Performers: Beaux Arts Trio: Menahem Pressler, Isidore Cohen, Bernard Greenhouse Year: 1985 Length: 44 minutes
Review
Schubert's second piano trio is a thing of real beauty. Much like Winterreise it is not an untroubled beauty like in his earlier works, it is very much a piece about inner conflict, and while the sun shines through on occasion it is mainly a cloudy piece.
Nothing exemplifies this better than the theme introduced in the second, slow, movement, which is then repeated until the end of the piece, so full of delicate beauty and pain and at the same time extremely catchy. It stays with you.
Schubert manages that most supreme of feats, to be melancholy without being maudlin, his pain is not a mockery of pain but truly heartfelt, and he manages to pass that though with all of its complexities in his music. This is not Rachmaninoff's kitsch romanticism.
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The Trio No. 2 in E-flat major for piano, violin, and violoncello, D. 929, was one of the last compositions completed by Franz Schubert, dated November 1827. It was published by Probst as opus 100 in late 1828, shortly before the composer's death. Unlike much of Schubert's late music, he actually heard this work performed before he died.
Scene from Barry Lyndon with the beautiful andante:
Title: Die Schone Mullerin, Winterreise, Schwanengesang Performers: Peter Schreier, Andras Schiff. Year: 1991 Length: 71 minutes
Review
This is Schubert's most painful song cycle and also one of the hardest ones to listen to. It requires some habituation in order to really sink in. When I first heard it many years ago I profoundly disliked it. But you don't really like desolation as a child.
As time has gone on, each time I listen to it I like it a little bit more. The same has happened with most of Schubert's lieds, but none more so than Winterreise. Schubert is crossing a deep depression at this stage in his life, and it shows.
When the listener is able to do the epistemic shift from boring and desolate to beautiful desolation is when this album clicks in. It might take 100 listens but you get there, in this way it is a truly challenging set of songs to the listener, but one which pays off in the end.
Final Grade 9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
In his introduction to the Peters Edition (with the critical revisions of Max Friedländer), Professor Max Müller, son of the poet, remarks that Schubert's two song-cycles have a dramatic effect not unlike that of a full-scale tragic opera, particularly when performed by great singers such as Jenny Lind (Die schöne Müllerin) or Julius Stockhausen (Winterreise). Like Die schöne Müllerin, Schubert's Winterreise is not merely a collection of songs upon a single theme (lost or unrequited love) but is in effect one single dramatic monologue, lasting up to an hour in performance. Although some individual songs are sometimes included separately in recitals (e.g. Gute Nacht, Der Lindenbaum and Der Leiermann), it is a work which is usually presented in its entirety. The intensity and the emotional inflexions of the poetry are carefully built up to express the sorrows of the lover, and are developed to an almost pathological degree from the first to the last note. It has been claimed that it would be impossible to write this work without having experienced similar emotions in reality.
Title: Le Voyage Magnifique Performer: Maria Joao Pires Year: 1996-96 Length: 71 minutes
Review
Schubert's Impromptus have been for a long time my favourite piano pieces, each sounds so perfectly whole and so modern as well as intricate that it grabs your attention throughout while not sacrificing a certain minimalism. In fact I would only compare them to Beethoven's sonatas in terms of greatness for the piano.
Like much classical music Schubert's Impromptus suffer from over-popularisation, making it harder for the aware listener to approach them with completely fresh ears, if some of that is achieved it is not hard to see them for the amazing pieces that they are.
Another bonus for me is to have a recording by Maria Joao Pires here, the greatest Portuguese pianist of all times which makes by Portuguese bones particularly happy. So I am back in Manchester for a while, finishing packing, I have got an amazing house in Portugal now and I can't wait to be back there settled in... being in the sun with 10 more degrees Celsius than here.
Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The Impromptus are often considered companion pieces to the Six Moments musicaux, and they are often recorded and published together.
It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7, of Jan Václav Voříšek (1822) and by the music of Voříšek's teacher Václav Tomášek.
