What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XI)

Franz Schubert: András Schiff (playing on his Franz Bormann, Vienna, c. 1820 Fortepiano)

Ungarische Melodie in B minor, D 817

Piano Sonata in G major, D 894

Moments musicaux, D 780

Allegretto in C minor, D 915

Impromptus, D 935

Piano Sonata in B flat major, D 960

To put in to words my opinion on this album is difficult.  I want very much to like the 'sound' world of the Fortepiano played on here.  For curiosity sake; for education sake; for hardcore tradition sake; for the sake of style; all valid positions and very interesting in themselves.  Like looking at a century old photograph or a leaf/ flower found in an old family bible that your great grandmother put there.  This brings a sense of nostalgia that is very special to experience and cannot be reverse engineered.

However, in the case of a preserved leaf you would never want (or need) to modernize it.  You cannot improve upon it and it is the fact that there is a special link to your past that is the special aspect that would hold one in nostalgic bliss anyway.

In the case of a very old photo, I do not think you would want to replace that either but there is a stronger case today for wishing for both; a current photo to go alongside the historic one (if this were possible).  The old photo for nostalgic reasons and the current photo for a more realistic sense of meaning that we could relate to in current times.

I think in the end this is how I would characterize this type of recording.  One that is of value and very interesting to me but this is not a sound world (at least at this point in life) that I desire to listen to on a daily basis.  I would not endorse the majority of modern (meaning the past century) piano recordings either as necessarily having the perfect sonics or outcome either though.  Based on sound alone, there is a rather small field of candidates that get it very close to being pleasing (for me). But when one does find a modern recording that does it right then there is no going back anymore.  This spoils all the arguments for style and tradition and in my opinion does more for the musical understanding and my emotional response than hearing the same on an historic instrument that simply has major shortcomings and lacks pleasing attributes.

It was really only a few decades after Schubert's death in 1828 that piano develop finally came in to its own.  Very little has changed in piano development since 1840/1850 because at this point and onwards most every composer composed for and played on a grand piano.  

The recording quality is very good here as usual for ECM.  Schiff is Schiff. The music is still there as Schubert can only be.  The sum of the parts though add up to the whole though only and does not exceed the whole simply due to the sound world of the chosen instrument.   

In general I would write down the same type of review for a fortepiano piece. This one however has a couple of pieces which sound quite good now.

Franz Schubert: András Schiff (playing on his Franz Bormann, Vienna, c. 1820 Fortepiano)

Ungarische Melodie in B minor, D 817

Piano Sonata in G major, D 894

Moments musicaux, D 780

Allegretto in C minor, D 915

Impromptus, D 935

Piano Sonata in B flat major, D 960

For a change of mood.  It's hard not to be seduced by the 'creamy' Avalon and then there's the hypnotic rhythm of While My Heart Is Still Beating 

Still in Suzanne Vega mood having seen her live on Thursday so I thought I'd dig out her first album. 

Originally Posted by Florestan:

Franz Schubert: András Schiff (playing on his Franz Bormann, Vienna, c. 1820 Fortepiano)

 

Ungarische Melodie in B minor, D 817

Piano Sonata in G major, D 894

Moments musicaux, D 780

Allegretto in C minor, D 915

Impromptus, D 935

Piano Sonata in B flat major, D 960

 

Doug,

How does Staier's pianoforte sounds to you?

He plays 

1996 Christopher Clarke Fortepiano  copy of 1827 instrument by the Viennese maker Graf 

This is one of the nicest sounding pianoforte I have heard and love his Impromptus, too. 

Then we have Leiws with a modern Steinway with a plenty of ambient air and frequency reach but his macho Schubert sounds wrong to me.

Streaming | Deezer Elite

(2014)

Thanks for the heads up dayjay, my first listen to this and really enjoying it.