Classical music: Schubert

A rewrite of this page is following immediately upon the heels of doing the same for Brahms, and Schubert likewise continues to be a classical composer of high appeal for me. (But I won't be featuring vocal music here either.) Of course, similarly, there's considerable discussion of Schubert's music elsewhere, and I'm not going to pretend to tackle that body of work with any particular insight. So this will be another simple page noting my own favorites, again with recording suggestions (but moving to the newer context, pace some concluding remarks...). And my favorite Schubert pieces are also very typical selections, so there might be even less to say on that.... I don't even have "classic" interpretations that I've particularly enjoyed for many years: With Schubert, I've mostly found myself moving on periodically to new readings.... I also rewrote this page (relatively recently) in January 2012, and so will retain (more or less) the next couple of paragraphs:

Whereas "controlled" and "concise" seem like relevant terms for discussing Beethoven and Brahms respectively, Schubert is expansive and resigned. These days, the main pieces by Beethoven that I enjoy very much are some of the piano sonatas, particularly the last three, and part of that is the degree of ego that shines through in his music. It can be hard to take, and in it, we have the prototype of the composer as "control freak" which is such a factor for all later composed music — whether to be embraced or rejected. Schubert was impressed by Beethoven, of course, and the latter's control of form, but the elements of control in Schubert's music only extend so far. Some themes seem to come from elsewhere... imposed on the music, on the composer, even as a reflection of life. And when life is hard for me personally, this tumultuous interaction with forces, beyond the forefront of the music, are what draw me to Schubert, i.e. the way that he handles such (existential) interactions.

That Schubert's music is expansive almost goes without saying. In fact, I prepared the prior page here together with my first write-up on Feldman, and there're aspects of their music that I still find compelling in similar ways: Schubert's music, with its expansive themes & repeats, glories in raw sound at times. It's sumptuous music in that sense, beyond any particular intellectual conception. So a full length Schubert piece starts to seem like its own immersive world of experience, or series of worlds.... Good sound quality is thus important, and some of the "thinner" older recordings are hard for me to enjoy as much. (And I've also been realizing that the mid-20th century interpretive styles, more concerned with a "main line" & "sounding as one," are simply not how I prefer to hear this music. Too much feels marginalized by that sort of focus — but then, I'm otherwise into polyphony.)

And with a recent listening binge, I do have some newer interpretations to mention here: As already noted, though, I'm not sure I exactly have favorite albums for Schubert, as I find an ongoing restlessness to my choices over the years. (Maybe this fits the music.) There's a sort of lingering youthfulness too, and so this is music where I find myself especially appreciating younger (or at least new to me...) musicians. That said, my favorite pieces do fall (very clearly) into two big sets of three, plus a couple of extras. And chronologically, these are as follows: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor "Death and the Maiden" D810 (1824), String Quartet No. 15 in G major D887 (1826), Piano Trio No. 2 in Eb major D929 (Op. 100) (1827), Symphony No. 9 in C major "The Great" D944 (1828), String Quintet in C major D956 (1828), Piano Sonata in C minor D958 (1828), Piano Sonata in A major D959 (1828) & Piano Sonata in Bb major D960 (1828)....

Taking up the latter pieces first, the final three Piano Sonatas are often conceived as a cycle, presumably prompted by Beethoven's final trilogy of Piano Sonatas (& including seemingly taking up Op.111 immediately in the C minor Sonata & even e.g. drawing upon Op.106 in the Bb...), but also continuing to forge an epochal personal style for Schubert. (These last Piano Sonatas are usually numbered as Nos. 19 through 21, but I've noticed some arguments for other numberings during my recent binge.) There are also many, many recordings — & so in some sense, I become numb to interpretations of these great works: I've had a number of sets listed in this space over the years, including in the previous essay here, that from Paul Lewis (Harmonia Mundi, 2003 & 2014), and those albums still do have some basic appeal. More recently, I've enjoyed the cycle by Francesco Piemontesi (Pentatone, 2019): It's got great sound & really makes every note count — although I don't particularly care for the applause included at the end (although only D960 is live). And I've been listening to the sonatas more individually too, as they don't need to be played together, and so have also enjoyed e.g. D959 by Arcadi Volodos (Sony, 2019): That performance likewise features sparkling sound & attention, capturing a sort of stillness (or fragility...) to the music. But then the most compelling readings in both the Lewis & Piemontesi sets are probably those of D958.... It's still hard to say that I really have specific favorite readings for these sonatas, though, as I mostly seem to enjoy hearing new versions (& then usually moving on...). I also seem to appreciate hearing the full trilogy, or at least having that option.... Of course, especially taken as a trilogy, this is also very long (or expansive, as noted above...) music. (And in this, e.g. Lewis takes a less expansive approach to the first movement of D960. So that's one of many factors in these performances.)

[ Update/Insertion 03/02/22: As it happens, I also came across — via independent recommendation — a relatively new period piano reading of the last three Piano Sonatas, Zukunftsmusik by Tobias Koch (Musik Museum, 2020), soon after completing this essay. And as can be readily observed in the previous paragraph, I hadn't featured any historical solo piano here to this point: Those recitals simply hadn't captured my ear. But I've been increasingly captivated with Koch, and at this point, feel more excited about this specific set than I recall ever having been for prior Schubert cycles, since as noted, I tend to "cycle" through them.... In any case, the sometimes rough sound of the period piano isn't for everyone, but it's been incredibly illuminating for this music for me, particularly in this performance. And although the relative lack of resonance jumps out immediately, there's actually a singing quality that develops quite strongly in various passages, particularly amid the textural contrasts handled via register changes (available on this historic piano...). Koch thus brings a basic physicality & feelings of "stretching" the instrument to these works, lending a heightened sense of drama, but also setting the more lyrical qualities in relief — almost as something to be earned (or wrested from darkness...). There's also a thorough rethinking of basically every phrase, as well as a particularly expansive reading — even suggesting "characters" — of the opening to D960.... (Koch thus makes the repeats compelling too.) ]

And perhaps my string favorites can be taken as something of a trilogy too, especially since e.g. my featured album from last time, that from the Belcea Quartet (EMI, 2009) includes all three. But in some sense, it seems deceptive to list these last three string pieces together — at least as a general rule — as there isn't any kind of progression (e.g. thematically) through them, while the quartets also date to earlier in Schubert's career: Of course, that's all relative, as Schubert lived only to age 31, but so many of his consensus masterpieces do date from his final year.... However, the "Death and the Maiden" Quartet continues to appeal, particularly with its rather typically Schubertian drama & dark edge. (It seems like a milestone in his earlier work.) And then the emotionally searing Quartet in G is a piece I've thought of as the soundtrack to my life during various periods.... It brings out so many highs & lows, and (at least for me) ends up feeling like the greatest of the classical string quartets in general.... (In fact, all of these pieces come to seem as if they draw upon resources beyond a mere four/five players.) So I've continued especially to appreciate the Belcea in the D minor Quartet, but I've never been quite as sold by their G major — including v. the previous selection here, the Melos Quartett Les derniers quatuors (Harmonia Mundi, 1992). But more recently, I've come particularly to enjoy that by Quatuor Voce (Alpha, 2019), even as their first movement is less expansive.... And then the String Quintet is again one of Schubert's most hailed pieces, featuring a sophisticated sense of suspension & equivocation.... There, besides still enjoying the Belcea rendition (& I'd never really been satisfied by older recordings of this piece in particular....), I also recently stumbled upon that by Quatuor Sine Nomine (Claves, 2000), which is still from a prior generation (along with the Melos), but does project a particularly icy poise in building the long lines of the piece.... I guess Belcea can still feel fiery to me at times, which I also enjoy, but there's a sort of thinness (e.g. of tone) at other times too. Again, though, these pieces have been recorded many times (although not as often as the solo Piano Sonatas...).

From there, moving to the less widely hailed Piano Trio in Eb, of course this (being by Schubert) is also a rather expansive piece, and I've particularly enjoyed it as a sort of precursor to Brahms.... I also find that these sorts of "broken consorts" present more balance challenges, which historical instruments sometimes clarify. And so I've appreciated the HIP version from Andreas Staier, et al. (Harmonia Mundi, 2016). (This is also a somewhat earlier piece, pace the usual emphasis on Schubert's final year.) For whatever reason, I guess I've not been particularly struck by historical approaches for the two great "trilogies" above, though....

Finally then, there's "The Great" C major Symphony. (I've known it as the 9th, but there are other numberings proposed in this case too....) I'm also not much of "a symphony person," but along with the final two from Brahms, Schubert's is one of my favorites. His expanded scope really seems to come to fruition.... But I've also found many of the "big name" performances to seem kind of indulgent, simply (I imagine) on account of how often this piece has been performed (along with a desire to "put one's stamp"). So I had a rather idiosyncratic choice here, an old Telarc disc (1998), and now for a new listing for this new write-up, I'm favoring Michael Halász & the Budapest Symphony Orchestra (Naxos, 2012). It's a big, modern recording with good sound, and I've found it to be rather satisfying in a straightforward way (i.e. the best kind of way for general, ongoing listening...).

And then, perhaps I should note explicitly — as I probably should have for the Brahms write-up — that the existence of a link on this page does NOT mean that a recording is more favored: Rather, it mostly means it's older & has been mentioned here for longer, that's all, and in some cases even that it's on the way out of my affections.... (I suppose that creating a confusing impression with the links is a flaw in the way I'm transitioning these presentations....) So I guess we'll see what happens from here....

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