It's so good to have this disc in my collection, and it's so difficult for me to hear the individuality in each Pianist, i at one time would put her in the 'staccato' box of Pianists [rather than the 'legato' box], now i'm not so sure, she certainly isn't like Brendel [my favourite], maybe i need to concentrate on her pianism more, rather than on her Schubert when she plays, i hope she now turns her hands to more Chopin, or even Bach, i played this Sonata in early 2011 [8th February 2011].
Mitsuko Uchida is Japanese, she's now 63, and she made this recording in 1997, the photography is by Walter Schels, front and back have the same shot, only the back is a larger print, notice how the lettering is pasted all around thge edges of her face, it's well laid out, it's good to have the timings separate, the front cover is a side profile, minimal lettering, and instead of black and white, it's almost a dark sepia and white, but i like the visuals for this disc.
The whole Sonata is fairly even, every movement is every bit as good as every other bit, i guess the first movement just gets the edge, the recording is done very much in the Philips style, capturing the piano very well, quiet passages as well as fortes, Uchida plays the exposition repeat, which adds roughly 4 minutes to the movement, and yes i do get her slight staccato-ness, she like to pronounce notes rather than muddy them in a lovely legato, and when the music calls for a forte, she dutifully obliges, she's certainly dramatic, and the exposition repeat goes where i thought it would [4:02], she's also exacting in her notes, i find Schubert a 'bubbly' Composer, and Uchida rightly gets the rhythms right for the movement to bubble along nicely,.
Here's Alfred Brendel playing the first movement on YouTube.
Here's Alfred Brendel playing the first movement on YouTube.
