Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Gottlieb Wallisch :: Schubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 5, 7a, 11 & 12

Quite a Wonderful CD of Rarely Heard Schubert

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 07/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD could probably be considered to contain chips from Schubert's workbench because each of these sonatas is in one way or another a fragment. But there is some strong music here that I, at least, would not want to be without. Indeed, most of it is echt-Schubert and we can never have enough of that. These four sonatas come from the period 1817-1823, a time when Schubert's composing was somewhat in disarray; indeed, this period has been called his 'time of crisis.' There were twelve incomplete sonatas in this period (as compared to the eleven he did finish). And it's possible that these pieces weren't completed to his satisfaction because he was attempting something new and not quite sure how to achieve it. Nonetheless, the pieces here are presented pretty much as he left them. Nothing is added except for an adagio (D. 612) put in as a putative second movement of Sonata No. 11, and another adagio (D. 505) serving the same function in Sonata No. 12. In that same sonata, the first movement breaks off at the beginning of the recapitulation and that is precisely how Wallisch plays it. In the case of the other sonatas it's not a matter of uncompleted movements (although in one case, Sonata No. 7a, D. 567, some final measures are missing but easily filled in by music that occurred earlier in the movement). No, in most cases incompleteness refers to missing movements. But enough musicology. The important things here are the music and the performances. And in general both come up aces. I'd never heard of Gottlieb Wallisch, the pianist, before. He's a young Viennese (b. 1978) apparently just coming into his own. He is very talented both technically and musically. As for the music, there are some major Schubert moments here. The third (and final) movement of the 5th sonata is a romp whose main melody will stick with you - ah, those Schubert melodies! - and although it probably really represents what should have been the third of four movements, it ends the three-movement fragment on a happy note. The serenely beautiful allegretto from Sonata 7a is a treasure. There many other felicitous passages but for me the highlight of the whole set is the fourth movement of the 12th sonata, the last movement on the CD. It is a dramatic whirlwind that almost certainly was inspired by similar moments in Beethoven; it doesn't immediately sound like Schubert until we get to the second theme. One can imagine Johann Nepomuk Hummel (a composer finally getting the attention he deserves) hearing this movement and getting some ideas for himself.At this budget price, this CD is a real winner. Indeed, even at full price it would be because of the nice performances of rarely heard repertoire, and, as I said earlier, for some of us there can never be enough music by Schubert.TT=69:09Scott Morrison"