Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major, D960

Iconic Deutsche Grammophon pianist and celebrated Schubert interpreter Maria João Pires returns to further explore the music of the quintessential romantic composer; deepening a musical relationship that has captivated critics and public alike throughout her career. The Portugese pianist has not recorded either of these sonatas for DG before and this recording of the brooding and expansive Sonata no.16 in A minor is her first for any label.

Both her DG debut recital and the acclaimed 1997 album, Voyage Magnifique, revealed Maria João Pires's unique empathy with the clarity of gesture and melodic line in the solo music of Schubert and this new album, combining the rarely heard Sonata No.16 with one of the composer’s best-loved late works, adds to her acclaimed discography of the composer.

Richter conquered Paris with these Schubert scores. The last and immense Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat major, D960 (1828) stayed a long time in his repertoire chasing the 'small' sonatas. He captures the brillant ambiguity of this series of exclamations, more a cycle of impromptus than a real sonata pace Beethoven; its strict architecture opposing its instinctive imaginativeness. Richter exudes overwhelming charm over an isolated Impromptu before respecting the post-Mozartian baroque approach in the 1819 'small' A major Sonata D 664.

Recorded September 24 1972 [D960], June 10 1956, June 10-11 1962. Previously available as PR254032 [1994], CDM78726/7 [1993]

Matthias Goerne continues his Schubert survey that has already established him as one of the most gifted exponents of the song repertoire. Goerne does not merely ‘interpret' Schubert, he 'lives' each song and invites the listener to share this poetry and musical intimacy.

This sixth volume also features an unforgettable performance of Schubert's last piano sonata by one of the baritone's favourite partners, Christoph Eschenbach. Offered on a free bonus CD, this ‘second swansong' reveals hitherto unexplored resonances under his expert fingers.

Pianist Imogen Cooper continues her critically acclaimed Schubert Live series with the third 2-CD release of the composer’s late piano music, recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The highly respected and acclaimed pianist Imogen Cooper is enjoying something of a renaissance with her ongoing series of Schubert’s solo piano works on Avie. International accolades for the recordings abound, from NPR to the BBC, Gramophone to the New York Times. Imogen continues her exploration of the composer’s late piano music with Volume 3, recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in December 2009.

Schubert was the ultimate romantic and Imogen brings out the full spectrum of his complex and colourful compositions, from the gentle German Dances, D790, and pearl-like Impromptus, D899, to the turbulent A minor Sonata, D 784, and mighty B flat Sonata, D960. Imogen says: “I’m not afraid of being described as a Schubert specialist,” even though her active repertoire ranges from Bach to Thomas Adès. “He has taken up a lot of my waking time for more than 30 years. In fact, you could say that his songs and his piano music have sometimes been close to an obsession for me.” It is more than 20 years since Cooper made a live and recorded survey of all the piano music Schubert composed from early 1823 until his death in 1828 at the age of 31. “One of the reasons I’ve taken it all up again is that I feel it ten times more strongly than I did 20 years ago: the message has become more direct to me. Schubert has become even more necessary to my well-being, and I sense strongly that he is important for an audience’s well-being too.”

'When he is at his best he plays more beautifully than any of us,' Alfred Brendel told William Steinberg, and described Kempff as 'an Aeolian harp, ever ready to respond to whatever interesting wind blew his way'. Brendel chose Kempff's 1953 Decca recording of Schubert's A minor Sonata, D.845, for inclusion in Philips' monumental 'Great Pianists of the 20th Century' series. The B flat Sonata was recorded three years earlier and has never previously been published on CD. In contrast with today's bountiful D. 960 discography, Schubert's last sonata was a relative rarity on disc when this recording first appeared, and it met with critical enthusiasm. 'Out of many lovely things in (the) first movement,' wrote the late and long-time Gramophone critic Alec Robertson, 'I will single out Kempff's playing of the second tune (F sharp minor) in which he achieves a perfect balance between the tenor and treble registers, and his instinctive feeling for the magical music hovering between D minor and B flat major, which proceeds the recapitulation - one of the supreme things in the whole of piano literature.'

In the 1000th issue of Gramophone (December 2005) the magazine asked its panel of reviewers to choose a single artist they'd like to hear perform just for them. Ivan March chose Wilhelm Kempff, and in particular, this 1950 Decca recording of Schubert's B flat sonata: 'Long ago, in my teens, I discovered the inspirational playing of Wilhelm Kempff. It is he I would invite to my command performance and it is Schubert I would ask him to play - the last, wonderful Sonata in B flat, for me the peak of 19th-century piano music. I heard it first on a Decca mono LP, elysian in his hands. But that early pressing had an irritating background swish. I tried to replace it but it appeared that all copies carried the same fault; it was some time before I secured a perfect pressing. Many years later I had afternoon tea with the illustrious Alec Robertson, whose enthusiastic review in The Gramophone had drawn me to the record. I gently took him to task about not mentioning the swish in his review. His eyes twinkled. "Ivan," he said, "the playing was so beautiful that I didn't hear the swish".'

Schubert is the last great composer whose output reserves an honoured place for the piano sonata. He composed his last three sonatas in the autumn of 1828, when at the height of his powers, and some six weeks before his death on 19 November. The penultimate Sonata in A major, D 959, is one of the most delicate, and imbued with the spirit of the Lied; it opens with an assured Allegro, its texture softened by the triplets which dominate and eventually conclude the movement. The element of fantasy evident in the intensely-felt development section is found again in the central part of the sadly swaying Andantino, compared by Brahms to a sorrowing lullaby. After the Scherzo and trio, the sonata ends with a sonata-form rondo marked Allegretto. Dated 26 September 1828, the final Sonata in B flat, D 960, a masterpiece among masterpieces, is marked by serenity and resignation. Its amplitude goes hand in hand with a great simplicity, as in the sublimely moving, heart-rending Andante sostenuto. After the tenderness and refinement of the scherzo comes a finale which blends rondo and sonata form, crowning this work like the last rays of sun in a life shortly destined to come to an end.

“This repertoire speaks to me in such a profound way.It strikes a chord in me in a way that no other music does.” Leif Ove Andsnes