Steven Osborne chooses the second set of Schubert’s Impromptus and
opens the sequence with the flourish of the F-minor, played crisply and
dramatically, and nicely modulated in terms of expression and dynamics.
It’s a subtly searching reading that is very affecting. So too the
limpid beauty of the A-flat, phrased sublimely by Osborne with no need
for artifice; his sensitivity unfolds a special reading, not least in
the middle section where the pianist’s ear for volume and tonal variance
pays many dividends. Such artlessness informs the expansive B-flat
Impromptu, based on the same-key ‘Entr’acte’ from Schubert’s music for
Rosamunde, given with due gravitas but without undue distension; there
is also a delightful sparkle, as there is too in the F-minor ‘finale’
that here scampers along, Osborne’s clarity ensuring shapeliness, and
the coda is resolute, as if a grand Sonata has been ended.
If
Three Piano Pieces (prepared for posthumous publication by Brahms) seems
bland as a title then each one contains remarkable music, written in
the final year of Schubert’s life, and with the triptych of Piano
Sonatas (D958-960) still to come. The first Piece is of drive and
consolation – and Osborne gives a near-perfect account of it. He goes on
to also dig deep into its E-flat successor, its heavenly (if watery)
melody beautifully shaped, contrasts through the two ‘trio’ sections
ideally made while retaining a wholeness of vision. The final Piece,
restless then remote, eventually comes to a forceful conclusion, and is
brilliantly played.
Anselm Hüttenbrenner and Schubert became
close comrades in 1815 when they were pupils of Salieri. Of course,
Schubert would die young, in 1828 aged 31, whereas his friend survived
him by forty years. The Theme, a measured march, is from the slow
movement of Hüttenbrenner’s String Quartet in E, Opus 12. The Variations
that follow are attractive in their initial effortlessness, the source
kept in view, and becoming more complex and imaginative, with some
ear-tickling adaptations. The whole is played with sympathy and superb
musicianship by Osborne, as throughout the recital, and the recording is
a model of warmth and lucidity.
If you would like a one word summing up: outstanding! (Classical Source)
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