It seems strange that my first thought on hearing Louis Schwizgebel’s Schubert was that it feels insufficiently Beethovenian – or at least less so than we often hear. At the start of D958, cast of course in Beethoven’s characteristically stormy C minor, he opts for a slight steadiness in terms of both tempo and dynamics, and retains a carefully regulated touch throughout. For the opening movement of the A minor Sonata, he is clipped and disciplined where many – Paul Lewis is a recent example – are a great deal stormier and stressier. (Lewis is also one among several to espouse a more Beethovenian approach in D958.)

But that’s not to say that the pianist confines Schubert to the Biedermeier drawing room. His clarity, matched by Aparté’s engineering, doesn’t mean a lack of weight or force, his patience doesn’t preclude excitement, and the pearly delicacy Schwizgebel gets from his instrument’s higher register doesn’t mean decorousness, not least because he peppers his light textures with mischievous, stinging accents. Nor is he afraid to unleash the piano’s full resources. It’s just that, in readings that take special care with markings, he does so only when specified: there’s always a distinction between forte and fortissimo; and listen, for example, to his minutely graded dynamics as the triplet counterpoint is introduced in D958’s Adagio (from 4'45").

Some will no doubt miss the extra weightiness, and it’s true that Schwizgebel’s discipline sometimes risks curtailing the music’s poetry and mysteriousness, particularly if you compare him to Pires or Lupu in the first and second movements of D845. But there is still much poetry to be found within his own parameters, and the final reprise of the theme of D958’s Adagio (6'41") is exquisitely done. His light-footed way with the same sonata’s galloping finale is terrific, too, especially the hand-crossing sections; and the gentle skip in the step he brings to both the preceding Menuetto and D845’s Scherzo is delightful.

In sum, this makes for a refreshing and rewarding disc, and one well worth seeking out.