Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Christoph Eschenbach, Justus Frantz :: Schubert: Music for Piano Duet, Vol. 2

The right place to start with the Eschenbach-Franz duo

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For along time the discs of Schubert four-hand music from partners Eschenbach and Franz set the standard in this repertoire. Major labels rarely recorded this wonderful music, and here were two major pianists doing it full justice. Or almost. Now EMi has give us two bargain Gemini twofers taken from the original Lps. This is the twofer to start with, I think, since it contains the great Fantasy in F minor, the Divertissement Hongroise, and the Grand Duo, all among the true masterpieces Schubert wrote for this combination.



I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying these recordings instantly, but if you pick and choose, there are better recordings now. Topping the list are Benjamin Britten and Sviatoslav Richter in live performances from the Aldeburgh Festival in the Sixties, incomparable in musical terms. There's ARthur Schnable and his son Karl Ulrich on historic EMI reccccordings, and very recently a live arnegie Hall recital featuring James Levine and Evgeny Kissin. Compared to all these, the duo of Eschenbach and Franz, though on a high plane, cannot quite scale the summit."

ATTENTION SCHUBERTIANS!--FIRST CLASS WORK...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 02/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

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2006 brand new (re)release by EMI of these essentially Schubertian masterworks for piano four hands.



Wonderful art, reasonable price.



Highly recommended.

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