If you’re nuts for the piano repertoire as I am, Schubert is a not so hidden jewel in the treasure box. Schubert wrote more… introspectively than anyone. If you want to reboot your brain to think more clearly, Schubert is the man to clean out the cobwebs!
Everyone loves Chopin. Nobody understood the piano better or said more, in less time.
Mozart was close. He wrote beautifully and is always well structured.
Beethoven brought fire and brimstone along with great melodies. He was the best at what he did.
Schumann mastered the ROMANTIC era beyond all others. In certain moods, I am only interested in Schumann.
Back to Schubert… his melodies are to die for! He often wrote in simple forms where he would state a melody, and then go on to repeat it- just a bit differently, many times, as only a genius can do. On the first pass he’d play it evenly. On the next pass he’d be lilting. On the next he’d add an accent, or insert a space. They’re basically the same notes, massaged by a master craftsman. He could create a meandering path of whimsical majesty. Nobody does it better!
A perfect example of this his is masterful sonata D959. Check out the second movement and you’ll hear precisely what I mean. Is there a more hauntingly beautiful piano piece?
It’s actually harder at times, as a pianist, to play these slower and more sparse works. You might infer they would be easier because they’re not finger busting chords like those of Rachmaninoff or Brahms. Yet, the music is so transparent that any slip or dynamic muff can make the piece sound pedestrian instead of glorious.
Another Schubert fave of mine is the entry movement of sonata D845. The movement is about 13 minutes of Schubert wizardry. The whole sonata is grand at 37 minutes. But the opening movement is Schubert writing at his best. And of course we can’t leave out the entirety of Schubert’s last three sonatas where he seemed to know he was dying, and had to get it all out before he left. It couldn’t have been done more perfectly if he had all the time in the world. Sheer genius!
Amphion is the perfect speaker for Schubert’s piano works. Amphion lets you hear every nuance in the ever evocative D959 second movement. With an average pianist, or speaker, the work can actually sound monotonous. With a great pianist (Wilhelm Kempff, Paul Lewis, Mitsuko Uchida) you can infer every subtle accent and breath. As with layers of an onion, there are new discoveries with every listening session.
Argon 3S ($2700pr) and Argon 7LS ($5000pr) reveal what’s in front of them without fog. It’s like having glasses with a crisp new prescription.
If you love Schubert (I do!), please listen to Amphion speakers. They’ll let you hear the last drop of detail from Kempff, Lewis and Uchida!