Schubert - Piano Sonata 20 [Uchida]
I will always love Brendel's Schubert over any other, it's almost as if he's Mr Schubert himself, i don't know anyone else that so personifies a Composer like that [maybe Gould and Bach?], but Uchida's Schubert is a resounding success also, she doesn't quite match the sheer fun and danceability-ness that Brendel does, but i love her Schubert too, and it's good to hear her in these two late masterpieces, this same Sonata has been in my Blog twice before played by Uchida [8th February 2011 & 8th September 2012].
Mitsuko Uchida is Japanese of course, she's now 66, i love the booklet photos [by Walter Schels], showing a side profile of Uchida, with the lettering in white over the back / dark side of her head, very effective indeed, why can't other companies really think about their visuals when releasing a disc of music?.
I loved the two inner movements the best, one achingly slow and thoughtful, the other the opposite, skittish and thrilling, this second movement Andantino just clinches it for me, a slow tread of a movement, it's power is in it's constant build, small aching variations in tone and volume at just the right points, the opening tune is expanded later by going up an octave in to the treble later [1:27+], that just sounds so pleading, of course Schubert wouldn't be Schubert if he didn't have one of his central episodes [3:05+], one of his very best of all, full of drama, lots of treble trapeze heroics, it's hard to mention everything that goes on here as there's so much of it!, trills in the treble, monotonous repeated notes, and these treble stabbings [3:54 & 4:12], and these four treble smashes [4:46 / 4:52 / 5:04 / 5:09], trying to silence everything else downwind the keyboard, when the opening returns again [6:05+], at first it can seem like an anti-climax, but it's a beautifully poised tune, there's a bit of Satie / Gymnopedie in there, it really gets hold of you with its spell, if you let it!.
Here's Uchida on YouTube, playing this movement.
Mitsuko Uchida is Japanese of course, she's now 66, i love the booklet photos [by Walter Schels], showing a side profile of Uchida, with the lettering in white over the back / dark side of her head, very effective indeed, why can't other companies really think about their visuals when releasing a disc of music?.
I loved the two inner movements the best, one achingly slow and thoughtful, the other the opposite, skittish and thrilling, this second movement Andantino just clinches it for me, a slow tread of a movement, it's power is in it's constant build, small aching variations in tone and volume at just the right points, the opening tune is expanded later by going up an octave in to the treble later [1:27+], that just sounds so pleading, of course Schubert wouldn't be Schubert if he didn't have one of his central episodes [3:05+], one of his very best of all, full of drama, lots of treble trapeze heroics, it's hard to mention everything that goes on here as there's so much of it!, trills in the treble, monotonous repeated notes, and these treble stabbings [3:54 & 4:12], and these four treble smashes [4:46 / 4:52 / 5:04 / 5:09], trying to silence everything else downwind the keyboard, when the opening returns again [6:05+], at first it can seem like an anti-climax, but it's a beautifully poised tune, there's a bit of Satie / Gymnopedie in there, it really gets hold of you with its spell, if you let it!.
Here's Uchida on YouTube, playing this movement.
