Schubert - Piano Sonata 21 [Perahia]This is a wonderful set of the last three Piano Sonatas of Schubert, see also [26th January 2010], on the whole Perahia is superb, but i haven't always warmed to him, his Chopin Ballades are generally thought of highly, but i didn't warm to them particularly, his Chopin Etudes are very good, but again not as good as in the best company, so it's a pleasure to listen to Perahia's Schubert, and feel a real sense of purpose and direction, he pushes lots of my buttons.
Murray Perahia is an American Pianist living in London, he is now 64, mainly records Bach [and i can't wait for his Well Tempered Clavier], but also branches out into Chopin, Schubert, and Brahms, he recorded this disc in 2002, i just really love the front cover, a superb photograph [by Ken Schles], showing Perahia at home i take it, with the emphasis not on him, but on the piano, showing the inner workings of his instrument, very appropriate as he shows the inner workings of Schubert!.
I just loved the way Perahia plays the first movement, it's one of the greatest creations that Schubert ever made, and i can't speak enough of it, there's insights galore, and yet on this listen i felt a special affinity with the last movement, it has a certain quirkiness about, a stuttering quality, but it develops into a greater lyricism after a while [1:13+], where the staccato phrases are replaced by legato, it chops and changes, going back and forth between a number of ideas, rather like someone channel hopping on the TV, a real Rondo, a strange end to the Piano Sonata foray for Schubert, light and dazzling, the complete opposite to the opening of the work, deep and dark.
Here's Alfred Brendel playing the fourth movement on YouTube.
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