Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Jenö Jandó, Zsuzsa Kollár :: Schubert: Piano Works for Four Hands, Vol. 3

A late Schubert masterpiece is here.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 06/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Music lovers who aim to acquire masterpieces of classical music at budget prices sometimes must expect budget quality performances. I am happy to report that this CD offers 5 star value. It is the third installment of Schubert's piano works for four hands, and the artists are master and his former pupil - the latter having the attractive given name Zsuzsa. When duo pianists play in sympathy and perfect accord, those enjoyment-spoiling "c-cluncks" are avoided whenever chords are required to be played in unison. I listened throughout with great enjoyment and no anxiety, hearing no "c-cluncks". . My listening to the F Minor Fantasie was especially keen. Having worked at it myself once with a friend, I was all too aware of the approaching pitfalls, the particular problems met along then way, and the need the see the piece as a whole while attending to its many changes of mood. I concluded that these artists had judged and mastered everything.The work itself, written in the last year of Schubert's life, is the most substantial he wrote for piano four hands, even ranking as one of his very major works. It is good to report that it gets a worthy performance here, flanked by some of Schubert's many dances and marches, the whole extending to 59 minutes duration."

You get what you pay for

I. Zopen | Bronx, NY | 03/14/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Sure this music is wonderful, sure Jando and Kollar handle it more than adequately. But why oh why did Naxos put the Fantasie in F minor D.940 on BOTH volume one and volume three of this three-volume set? It's a great piece, no doubt, but frequently recorded. It would be far better to bring out some of the lesser-known works in the four-hands category. So my advice is, don't waste any money, be it ever so inexpensive, on the Naxos 3 volume set (which of course is not even a complete rendering of all of the Schubert oeuvre for four hands). Please treat yourself to the seven volume set on Sony performed by Tal & Groethuysen. You will not regret owning the COMPLETE four-hand output of Schubert, in a performance that is unsurpassed. And you will not be made a fool of by Naxos, where they think its okay to have the same work on both volume one and volume three of their set of three. Shame on you Naxos!"