SCHUBERT Works for Four Hands Vol 1
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Franz Schubert
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Etcetera
Magazine Review Date: 04/2015
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 73
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: KTC1501
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Duo, 'Lebensstürme' |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Jan Vermeulen, Piano Veerle Peeters, Piano |
Divertissement à la Hongroise |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Jan Vermeulen, Piano Veerle Peeters, Piano |
(3) Marches Militaires |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Jan Vermeulen, Piano Veerle Peeters, Piano |
German Dance (with 2 Trios and 2 Ländler) |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Jan Vermeulen, Piano Veerle Peeters, Piano |
Author: Jed Distler
The disc commences with an energetic, forward-moving and beautifully thought-out reading of the Lebensstürme duo. The pianists’ sensitivity and stylistic surety masks the three-movement Divertissement à la hongroise’s rambling tendencies, while the instrument’s timbral distinctions particularly hit home, for example in the ‘semi-sustained’ pedal effects in the Andante’s cadenza-like episode or the way the long Allegretto’s tremolos vary in shape and expression, rather than rattle on like a silent-movie pianola. The duo wisely refrain from hurrying the first Marche militaire’s Allegro vivace, allowing the music to breathe without losing excitement. The second march takes on a welcome pomp and grandiosity that contrasts to the dead weight we often get from similarly slow performances, while the third transpires on a grand scale in the manner of an orchestral piece transcribed for piano duet. Here I especially like the elegant transitions between sections by way of the pianists’ slightly elongated up-beats.
By contrast, the closing Deutscher are all about Viennese charm and affection, and Vermeulen and Peeters lovingly demonstrate how to float Schubert’s disarming lyricism in seven blissful minutes. Vermeulen’s informative and well-written booklet-notes add value to a most desirable first instalment that augurs well for this cycle’s subsequent volumes.
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