Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D850 & D784

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
As Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida continues her traversal of Schubert, we've been privileged to observe a kind of dual evolution: not only that of the composer, but the accumulated insights of a performer tapping into her by-now exquisitely rare empathy. Some of the most intriguing results have centered on those flashes of the composer's early maturity from the mid-1820s (as in the Piano Sonatas D. 845 and D. 575), revealing what a wealth of musical innovation and variety Schubert had already explored before the highly revered last trio of sonatas: those in C Minor and A and, of course, the crowning B-flat.

Uchida--performing on an exceptionally responsive 1962 Steinway--detonates the bold, high-spirited opening bars of the extroverted Sonata in D (D. 850) with an exuberance of vitality that will make you gasp. It will also lock your attention as you buckle up for the rest of the journey. Uchida is especially at home in those moments when the music seems to float above the patterns it has just created and enter an altogether new region (the final reprise of the stunningly syncopated contrasting material in the slow movement or the trio of the third). While the technique may not be completely flawless, Uchida's execution of musical thought constantly disarms and captivates: whether in its sensitivity to harmonic color or--particularly noticeable in these accounts--in its deft awareness of Schubert's rhythmic complexity and play. The programming also allows for dramatic contrast, with the disjunctive pain of the A Minor Sonata undoing all the extroverted effusion that has gone before; the disc seems to retrace, on a grander scale, the archetypally Schubertian chiaroscuro. With Uchida, every bar becomes a South Sea of discovery--however leisurely Schubert's own meanderings, these are pieces you wish not to end. --Thomas May

Tracks:

Piano Sonata In D Major, D850: I. Allegro (vivace)
Piano Sonata In D Major, D850: II. Con moto
Piano Sonata In D Major, D850: III. Allegro vivace - Trio
Piano Sonata In D Major, D850: IV. Rondo: Allegro moderato
Piano Sonata In A Minor, D784: I. Allegro giusto
Piano Sonata In A Minor, D784: II. Andante
Piano Sonata In A Minor, D784: III. Allegro vivace

Amazon.com

As Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida continues her traversal of Schubert, we've been privileged to observe a kind of dual evolution: not only that of the composer, but the accumulated insights of a performer tapping into her by-now exquisitely rare empathy. Some of the most intriguing results have centered on those flashes of the composer's early maturity from the mid-1820s (as in the Piano Sonatas D. 845 and D. 575), revealing what a wealth of musical innovation and variety Schubert had already explored before the highly revered last trio of sonatas: those in C Minor and A and, of course, the crowning B-flat.

Customer Reviews:

Fine Recording of These Two Schubert Piano Sonatas But.............2006-12-28

Much to my amazement, Philips recorded this fine CD in the great hall of Vienna's Musikverein, offering some of the best, most realistic, sound I have heard for a recent classical piano recording. But this superb sound quality may not be a primary reason for those interested in acquiring this CD, which is, in of itself, an interesting study in contrasts between Schubert's most exuberant piano sonata (D major, D850) and most austere (A minor, D784). Distinguished pianist Mitsuko Uchida offers two compelling performances, especially of the D major sonata, which should be of interest to both her fans as well as passionate - and knowledgeable - students of Schubert's piano sonatas. But her performances will be infuriating to some listeners, since she tends to dramatize a bit too much, the accents present in Schubert's scores, especially in the D major sonata (Having heard both Alfred Brendel and Paul Badura-Skoda perform this sonata live in concert, I will note that I have more of a preference for their lyrical interpretations, which are quite dissimilar from each other, and yet, in their own distinctive ways, quite compelling.). Still, I hope that others will agree with me that Uchida has offered her own, thoughtful, interpretations of each score, which should be considered as noteworthy as those I've heard live or in recordings from Brendel, Badura-Skoda and the late, great Wilhelm Kempff. So I will concur with others, most notably the Penguin Guide, that this fine recording should not be regarded as a definitive recording of either sonata; however, it is one well worth listening.

Banging.......2006-09-20

I like Ms. Uchida's work, especially her Mozart piano concerti, and I like Schubert and I thought this a safe bet but I couldn't get through it. In the first movement of D850, it seemed as though Schubert had written repeated accented chords and then filled in the interstices with scrimshaw, and with scrimshaw a bit unsure of itself at that. I was alway brought up short, thinking that we ought to get somewhere with this, but we didn't. It went on, more banging, more noodling, and more banging, until I ejected the disk and gave it away. Schubert doesn't normally require patience. If you want to live to be 150 in subjective time, try Philip Glass or that patience-trying "Bolero."

Out of respect for Schubert, whom I don't know as well as some of the oher great Teutonic composers, I'll look around for another version. Perhaps it takes just the right pianist, like Liszt's "Mephisto Waltz."

Somewhat studied but always musical Schubert.......2006-05-10

If this entire CD recital of two great Schubert piano sonatas were as good as the opening Allegro of D. 850, Uchida would have made one of the best Schubert recordings in a long time. In that movement she shows none of her all-too-characteristic self-consciousness, giving a whirlwind reading full of natural brio. But as the outer movements progress, she does fall into her studied manner, and the second sonata, D. 784, could use a good deal more vigor and less holding back for the sake of extra nuance. Despite this, there is no doubt that Uchida is remarkably musical. I intend to enjoy this CD one sonata at a time, which seems to be the best way to apreciate her fine-grained approach without growing tired of it.

Over interpreted Schubert.......2005-01-26

This is my first time hearing Mitsuko Uchida playing Schubert sonatas.

I've been fortunate to hear a number of fine recorded performances of Schubert Piano Sonatas including pianists Wilhelm Kempff, Sviatoslav Richter, Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia, Artur Schnabel, Artur Rubinstein, Stephen Hough and, in concert, Leon Fleisher and Seymour Lipkin. To me, Schubert, above all, should sing.

Mitsuko Uchida over-interprets, over dramatizes Schubert, at least in these sonatas, to their detriment. She is so involved in "interpreting" Schubert that she seems to lose the overall picture. The music tends to fall apart. Schubert's piano sonatas, which can appear long winded, lose their overall flow as Uchida plays them. Her emphasis on overly strong, sharply accented phrasing, to me, is sometimes misplaced: It robs the music of its essential song, poetry and coherence. One becomes aware, first and foremost, of Uchida and her efforts "to beautify what is already beautiful", as the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs puts it, and secondly to Schubert.

Far better, in both sonatas, is Richter or Kempff whose approach emphasizes the songfulness, poetry and overall structure of this music. For example, listen to how Richter (Living Stage) and Kempff (Deutsche Gramophon) shape the second movement of the D Major Sonata, how they bring out the subtle melodic contrasts and poetry in the movement, versus how Uchida's sudden, overly strong, accented chords seem jarring, break the songfulness and contrasting lyricism of the movement, lose the movement's overall architecture, in a seeming attempt to bring out the beauty that is already in the music.

The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs and DVDs writes of this particular Schubert/ Uchida recording, "{r}ecommended without qualification to Ms. Uchida's admirers, but with caution to others."

Superb realistic, digital recorded sound.

Schubert: Piano Sonatas in A minor and D major, D784 & D850

Average customer rating:

Schubert: Piano Sonatas in A minor and D major, D784 & D850

Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000E3TA
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Tracks:

Piano Sonata No.17 In D, D.850 - Allegro Vivace
Piano Sonata No.17 In D, D.850 - Con Moto
Piano Sonata No.17 In D, D.850 - Scherzo (Allegro Vivace)
Piano Sonata No.17 In D, D.850 - Rondo (Allegro Moderato)
Piano Sonata No.14 In A Minor, D.784 - Allegro Giusto
Piano Sonata No.14 In A Minor, D.784 - Andante
Piano Sonata No.14 In A Minor, D.784 - Allegro Vivace

Average customer rating:

Schubert: Sonatas D664 & D850

Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004YU9I
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Tracks:

Son No.17(19) in D, Op.53, D.850: Allegro
Son No.17(19) in D, Op.53, D.850: Con Moto
Son No.17(19) in D, Op.53, D.850: Scherzo. Allegro Vivace
Son No.17(19) in D, Op.53, D.850: Rondo. Allegro Moderato
Son No.13(15) in A, Op.Posth.120, D.664: Allegro Moderato
Son No.13(15) in A, Op.Posth.120, D.664: Andante - Alain Planes A
Son No.13(15) in A, Op.Posth.120, D.664: Allegro

Schubert Piano Sonatas Vol. 5: Sonata in A minor Op.42, D845 & Sonata in D major, Op.53, D850

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Schubert Piano Sonatas Vol. 5: Sonata in A minor Op.42, D845 & Sonata in D major, Op.53, D850

Manufacturer: Meridian
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003XBH
Release Date: 1993-09-20