Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata in A major, D959
Moments musicaux, D780
Steven Osborne (piano)
rec. 2023, St Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London
Reviewed as a download
Hyperion CDA68437 [68]
In the September of 1828, a couple of months before his death, Schubert finished four great masterpieces. The wonderful quintet for two violins, viola and two cellos, and a final trilogy of piano sonatas, D958-960. The sonatas lay unpublished for over ten years and even then, were neglected. Many thought them too long winded, derivative and not worthy to stand beside the great examples penned by Beethoven. My favourite interpreter of the sonatas, Alfred Brendel, was always convinced of their stature, their unified tonal design and the cyclical nature of their structure as individual works and as a connected trio, in the same way as many see the last three symphonies of Mozart.
There have been many great versions of the sonatas and D959 in particular. Schnabel made the first in 1937 for HMV. The last one came from BIS only last year from Ronald Brautigam (review). I was surprised to see this new one from Hyperion as it is only a couple of years since they last recorded the work with Garrick Ohlsson (review).
Almost all pianists on record these days take the exposition repeat in the first movement. I believe they really should. The motific material is important (arguably for all four movements) and strangely it is in the exposition and recapitulation, rather than in the development section where the weight of the movement resides. Two of my favourite recent versions which don’t repeat are Inon Barnatan on Avie (now Pentatone – review) and the wonderful Evgeni Koroliov on Tacet. Steven Osborne has played Schubert on record before for Hyperion and this is his 35th release for the label. I have collected his records for many years and cherish his masterly discs of Messiaen, Tippett and Rachmaninov. The 2019 release of his Beethoven sonatas, Op. 109-111 was excellent, so I had high hopes for him embarking on the Schubert trilogy.
The sonata in A major, D959 lies at the heart of the trio of works. Osborne’s reading has a total timing of 41 minutes which is quite fast. Krystian Zimerman’s 2016 version for DG (review) is even faster though and I rate that one highly. The first movement begins with full marcato chords and left-hand leaps in the bass. As is often the case with Schubert, the song of the first theme is hidden in the middle voice as the harmony shifts and turns. The rhythms are dotted; Schubert specifically asks for restrained legato here. When we hear the gentle second theme at 1:30 it is perhaps more explicit. The exposition is repeated at 3:47 in this reading and Osborne reaches the development at 7:28. This short development section is hardly Beethovenian as we might expect though. Its calming and decorative writing sways and flickers under the beautiful, pearl-like touch of Osborne. Clever use of pedal too, and the pacing is inspired and always sings in breath-like phrases. The recapitulation, although essentially traditional, does offer the pianist licence to embellish and accentuate. Osborne’s account is superbly polished. He makes a very nice coda in pianissimo with gorgeous soft arpeggios.
He is in no rush at all in the important andantino movement of the sonata. It is the most notable section in the piece betraying its seemingly innocuous ABA form with a central section of unparalleled fury and vehemence. Osborne catches the sad mood of the sarabande-cum-barcarolle with its characteristic lamenting sighs, but it is in the free fantasia of the boiling middle where he really shines. Schubert’s writing is stark and shocking even. Steven Osborne seems to relish those brutal fortissimo chords that are surely meant to jolt the listener. When the calm of the first theme returns it is harmonically changed for its experience. Seven years after the sonata’s composition, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor premiered in Naples. Its famous mad scene, a classic of bel canto, has little in common with the cataclysm of the andantino’s central section. Both though are great examples of the musical epoch and composers pushing the boundaries of music which was moving from the classical to a Romantic idiom. Just a few months after its composition at the start of 1829, we start to hear Chopin flexing his muscles in similar vein. Hyperion’s sound is demonstration class, and the contrasting dynamics will be a great audio test for your amp-speaker set up, by the way.
The scherzo and trio are joyous. Osborne dashes it off with aplomb. The final Rondo is an elaborate procession of themes and motifs, tenderly developed and carefully crafted to heavenly lengths. There are many who find the movement too long, but I enjoyed hearing the extended span of Schubert’s vision under the expert fingers of this master pianist from our native land. In the centre of the movement, framed by the two ABA columns, sits a development section that not even Beethoven would have dared write. As usual Osborne has the structural arching span of the bigger picture always in mind and nothing feels episodic. It is a masterful reading of the Rondo and caps off a superb start to his sonata journey.
In truth, there are so many great recordings of this sonata, despite its excellence, I cannot say this one sweeps the field as I haven’t heard all the recent ones. I have always had an attachment to the old Philips LP version that Alfred Brendel made in 1971 for Philips. I listen to it these days on a Duo CD twofer which contains the other two sonatas in the trilogy as Brendel would have wanted. Brendel doesn’t take the first movement repeat though so it cannot be recommended as a library version in the modern era. Hyperion couple this new version with the six Moments musicaux. This is not uncommon and the salon-type pieces work well after the big work.
It is over ten years since Steven Osborne made his record of the Impromptus, D935 and the Drei Klavierstücke, D946 (like the sonatas, dating also from Schubert’s last year). In that record we can hear his attention to detail, the clarity of his articulation and the songful phrasing he employs. Nothing has changed. His playing in these six varied pieces has refinement and a sensitivity of touch that I find warming and entirely right. The cantabile in the melodic line is always there, too. He has a way of tempering the dynamics to bring in the light and shade that is often missing in these little jewels of the repertory.
The music itself is light, no great depths are probed, and mercifully Osborne being an artist of consummate style and experience, doesn’t try to make the pieces into something they were never meant to be – yet there is rich diversity here and Schubert paints with vivid colours and broad brushstrokes. The dance is ever present and in Steven Osborne we have an expert lead. The final moment is exquisite. It is in the form of a minuet and trio, and it is rendered beautifully here. A pearl to finish a disc I was excited to hear and to which I will soon return, I think.
Philip Harrison
Buying this recording via a link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free
