Classical Music: Schubert Piano Sonatas

Two Schubert Sonatas that have been brilliantly paired. The A minor D537 Schubert’s first completed piano sonata with its wonderful themes and the A major D959 one of the sublimely expansive masterpieces from his final year.

From the outset, Garrick Ohlsson injects momentum into his playing whilst maintaining gravitas and supremely observing the dynamics. His melodic phrasing, the subtle accents, the bar rests, the left hand accompaniment at the end of the first movement of the A minor is delightful all adding up to a commanding performance.

The beautiful second movement, a five-part rondo, once again shows Ohlsson as a masterful technician and a performer who gets full dynamic range through controlled playing. The contrasting left-hand staccato played against the right hand legato octaves is meticulousness and the second movement is, like the whole disc, an enjoyable listening experience.

Ohlsson has presence but nothing is overdone his playing is uncomplicated and yet coloured, his touch and rhythmic timing delivered with sedulous craftsmanship.

The A major, which has one of Schubert’s finest slow movements, is given an equally precise performance. The contrasts wonderfully observed. The Andantino draws the listener in with its lyricality and exquisite phrasing and Ohlsson in the middle section with its fortissimo chords, conveys the improvisatory feel before serenely closing the movement. Articulation in the scherzo is eloquent the whimsical nature beautifully expressed, the Rondo impeccable and elegant.

Ohlsson exudes musicality in these performances that are communicated with warmth and feeling, lovely textures emphasising the character of two popular Schubert sonatas and excellently recorded on a Steinway, in St Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London.