last major instrumental work of Franz Schubert's short but astonishingly productive career
Now Playing: Leif Ove Andsnes, Ian Bostridge
Topic: Leif Ove Andsnes
As the last major instrumental work of Franz Schubert's short but astonishingly productive career, the B-flat Piano Sonata (1828) is an enigmatic landmark in the piano literature. Some pianists place their own interpretation in the foreground when performing this music; others recede behind Schubert's lyricism, allowing the composer's melodies to sing for themselves. Both approaches can yield convincing results -- as Leif Ove Andsnes' deeply poetic and reflective recording certainly does, treading on the side of subtlety, even self-effacement. Schubert's valedictory sonata has sounded more troubled in other hands, but Andsnes emphasizes beauty over trauma, which makes the occasional outbursts of fiercer emotions all the more striking. All told, it's a very Schubertian performance of a quintessentially Schubertian work. This is the third disc on which Andsnes has paired a Schubert piano sonata with a selection of the composer's songs, joined by tenor Ian Bostridge (they have also devoted a disc to the song cycle Winterreise). It's an effective programming concept: These sonatas deserve to be savored one at a time, rather than doubled up on a disc, and the well-chosen lieder perfectly round out the musical experience. As ever, Bostridge sings with the tonal beauty and expressive directness that make him a leading interpreter of Schubert's songs. His keen sense of lyrical storytelling sustains the interest during the lengthy ballad "Viola," and he concludes the program with a very unusual item, the spoken melodrama "Abschied von der Erde." As in their previous collaborations, these two like-minded musicians are in top form here, illuminating in their own special way the ineffable sweetness of Schubert's melancholy. Scott Paulin
Updated: Monday, 13 June 2005 2:18 PM EDT
