Pianist Valery Afanassiev – renowned for strikingly individual and
deeply introspective interpretations of the music of Franz Schubert –
has now paired two often extrovert works by the composer: the set of six
“Moments musicaux” and the “Sonata D 850”. Recorded in September 2010
at the Auditorio Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Lugano, this is ECM’s second
solo Schubert release by the Moscow-born pianist, having previously
issued a live recording of Afanassiev performing Schubert’s final
“Sonata D 960” at the 1985 Lockenhaus Festival that has become a
much-discussed favourite among connoisseurs.
Composed from 1823 to 1827, the year before the composer’s death at age
31, the “Moments musicaux” brim with song and dance, as well as
Schubert’s characteristic mood swings from major to minor, from light to
dark, often within a single piece. With its glittering surface, the
brief “No. 3 in f minor” was one of Schubert’s more popular piano pieces
for decades; but the ballroom-worthy tune has an odd tension
underneath, as if the party were bound to end early. “No. 1 in C major”
has melodies reminiscent of the composer’s “Winterreise”, while the two
in A-flat major, No. 2 and 6, tap rich veins of melancholy, particularly
in Afanassiev’s interpretations. “No. 4 in c-sharp minor” is another
number that swirls like a woman dancing with tears in her eyes. “No. 5
in f minor” is the set’s lone thoroughly fast-paced number, although
even its up-tempo leaps have a brittle quality.
The “Sonata D 850”, written in 1825, is one of Schubert’s most ebullient
piano sonatas – with Ländler-like melodies, simulated horn calls and
strongly syncopated rhythms; he composed the piece over three weeks in
the spa town of Gastein, so the environment undoubtedly contributed to
the sonata’s high spirits. Yet, as with so many works by this composer,
there are also passages in “D 850” pregnant with nostalgia and emotional
ambiguity, especially in the second movement, which Afanassiev explores
with meditative concentration. (ECM Records)
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