Schubert: Sonata In B Flat Major,D.960/Four Impromptus,D.899

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
These two major late works of Schubert make for a wonderful program. The Sonata puts the listener through such an emotional journey that even the moving set of Impromptus comes as something of a relief. Carol Rosenberger's performances have a kind of warmhearted openness that suits the music very well. She doesn't play with the incredible subtlety of Artur Schnabel, whose playing of the Sonata (in EMI 65259-2) remains incomparable. But Rosenberger's approach to Schubert is also very valid, and her excellent contemporary recording quality is far better than Schnabel's well-transferred 78s. Rosenberger's program notes offer further insight into Schubert's music. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

One of the best of the Masterworks series.......2007-07-06

Brilliant Classics' "Masterworks" series, if you can get them cheaply (and currently they go for about $1/CD from Amazon's France Web site), are a great way to amass a significant library of the works of several great computers. The production values and the performances themselves are uneven, and the interpretations are not always historically-informed (unlike the bulk of Brilliant's "Complete Editions" of the works of Bach and Mozart). But there are numerous gems in the rough in The Masterworks, and the economic value is unsurpassed, even if you were to throw away half of the CDs in each set.

You're unlikely to throw away much of this Schubert collection though. This seems to be the finest of the Masterworks sets, with a succession of solid, often first-rate performances of most of the major Schubert works. Here's what you get:

- The symphonies, performed by The Hanover Band in a historically-informed style. Very interesting performances perhaps marred by an odd recording balance that makes the woodwinds sound distant. Takes up four CDs
- The six Latin masses. Also the Deutsche Messe in the version with wind instruments. Five CDs in all
- Edison Denisov's completion of Schubert's unfinished dramatic work Lazarus (2 CDs, Helmuth Rilling's premier recording)
- The last four string quartets (including the Quartettsatz) with #9 thrown in. Also the octet, piano quintet ("The Trout"), string quintet and both piano trios. In short all the canonical chamber works. Performances are strong, and well recorded
- Two CDs of violin/piano duets, including Op. 137 and Op. 162
- 19 of the 21 "canonical" piano sonatas (missing #7 and #12) as well as the Moments Musicaux, Impromptus, German Dances, Wanderer Fantasy and several other piano works, 11 CDs in all. As with the chamber music, the performances and recordings are strong, often stunning
- Two CDs of piano duets, including the Divertissements and D. 617
- Song cycles: Die Schöne Müllerin, Winterreise, Schwanengesang, and four CDs of standalone songs, including such "standards" as Erlkönig and Gretchen am Spinnrade. The singers are a bit uneven here, ranging from standouts Robert Holl, Deitrich Fischer-Dieskau and John Shirley-Quirk to the somewhat shrill Arleen Augér

Missing from the collection is Rosamunde, and a number of famous songs: Die Forelle (The Trout), Death and the Maiden, Ellens Gesang III (the so-called Ave Maria, D. 839), Der Hirt auf dem Felsen and Der Wanderer. But you do have almost all the important instrumental works, and most of the vocal works generally considered to be essential, with some padding added in the form of minor works such as the parochial Deutsche Messe, the German Dances, and the modernist-informed completion of Lazarus by the 20th Century Russian composer Denisov.

As with the other Masterworks sets, there are no program notes. You'll need to do your own research. Answers.com is a good starting point for Schubert compositions. There are also no song texts or translations provided, so again you'll need to track down your own. Try "The Lied and Art Song Texts Page" for lieder lyrics and translations. Hunt down a good price on this collection, browsing one of Amazon's European sites if necessary, and treat yourself to many hours of lovely music for the cost of a modest night out.

Will not buy this.......2007-03-16

I can't see D965 or D945 on this 40 disks worth of Schubert. Bizarre! There are so many great songs missing it scares me.

Worth it!.......2006-12-19

One of the best in "The Masterpices" series. Many of the discs (the symphonies in particular) were licensed from Nimbus and other full-line labels. Not all that long ago these discs would have set you back $18 to $20 a piece. That said, I still wouldn't part with my Hyperion collection. 40 CD's at this price... you can't go wrong.

Great way to jumpstart a schubert collection.......2006-12-19

Hartmut Holl, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Stephanie Brown, and Jaime Laredo as well as the Stuttgart Bach Collegium performing Schubert are hardly "left-behind artists and ensembles" as the previous naysayer states. These are licensed from major label releases and from the original masters issued at a bargain price, especially for the number of discs you get. Sound quality ranges from good to excellent. Good for all Schubertians and anyone who wants to jumpstart a Schubert collection.

Better to Pick a Few First-rate Performances.......2006-11-14

This is a bargain in dollar/listening time ratio, but who cares? There are many second-rate performances by left-behind artists and ensembles. Obviously the economics of resurrecting disks that don't require royalties has been the driving factor of selection. (On the other hand, the complete edition boxed sets of Bach and Mozart, which you'll find if you look, are stupendous successes artistically.)

Average customer rating:

More Brilliant Recordings Rescued From The Vaults

Decca Recordings 1941-1972, Vol 2

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Decca Recordings, 1949-1964, Vol. 1
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Clfford Curzon: Decca Recordings 1944-1970, Vol. 4
Pierre Fournier: Aristocrat of the Cello [United Kingdom]
Troubadour of the Piano

ASIN: B0000B0A0N
Release Date: 2003-11-25

Customer Reviews:

More Brilliant Recordings Rescued From The Vaults.......2004-01-23

Well the Universal Music Group made good on its promise to release Volume 2 of pianist Clifford Curzon's rare Decca Recordings (from 1941-1972) as part of its second batch of limited edition boxed sets in the "Original Masters" series. While I am delighted that Volume 2 has been made available, unfortunately it is a bit of let down after Volume 1. My reasons are many, but mostly have to do with the fact that the majority of performances are of solo and chamber works, and that the set only contains four concerto recordings, all in mono, compared with seven on Volume 1. Curzon recorded Mozart's 23rd and 24th Concertos with Josef Krips in 1953, but then re-recorded them in stereo with Istvan Kertesz (available on a Decca Legends title) largely because he was unhappy with this initial result. After all the years of reading why these recordings were never released, I can now hear it for myself. Also, while the Brahms PC No. 1 (with van Beinum from 1953) and the Grieg (Fistoulari, 1951) are better in terms of their performances, Curzon's stereo remakes with Szell and Fjeldstad respectively just sound so much better than these mono accounts (see my review of the latter, which by the way is quickly going out-of-print). The solo works -- Schubert's Four Impromptus, D899 (1941) and Piano Sonata, D960 (1970), and Brahms' Piano Sonata No. 3 and two Intermezzos (both 1962) -- are impressive but I already have multiple renditions of these works by other celebrated pianists, and I personally don't collect solo music the way I do orchestral works. The same goes for the two 1962 Dvorak and Franck Piano Qunitet performances that comprise the whole of Disc Four. In all, it is an excellent set for collectors, but most of us would have been happy to buy one 8CD set (like the DG "Original Masters" Fricsay and Markevitch sets -- see my reviews) instead of these two little ones.

Average customer rating:

The Art Of Maria Yudina, Vol. II

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Schubert: Sonata In B Flat Major,D.960/Four Impromptus,D.899

Average customer rating:

Schubert: Sonata In B Flat Major,D.960/Four Impromptus,D.899

Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000006VE
Release Date: 1992-12-11

Tracks:

Sonata in B flat major: Molto moderato
Sonata in B flat major: Andante sostenuto
Sonata in B flat major: Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza
Sonata in B flat major: Allegro, ma non troppo
Four Impromptus: Impromptu No. 1 In C Minor
Four Impromptus: Impromptu No. 2 In E-Flat
Four Impromptus: Impromptu No. 3 In G-Flat Major
Four Impromptus: Impromptu No. 4 In A-Flat Major

Amazon.com

These two major late works of Schubert make for a wonderful program. The Sonata puts the listener through such an emotional journey that even the moving set of Impromptus comes as something of a relief. Carol Rosenberger's performances have a kind of warmhearted openness that suits the music very well. She doesn't play with the incredible subtlety of Artur Schnabel, whose playing of the Sonata (in EMI 65259-2) remains incomparable. But Rosenberger's approach to Schubert is also very valid, and her excellent contemporary recording quality is far better than Schnabel's well-transferred 78s. Rosenberger's program notes offer further insight into Schubert's music. --Leslie Gerber

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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