I have neglected Schubert

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 veteye 22 Nov 2022

I play the piano quite a bit and yet I do not play any Schubert: Yet I have had recordings of his symphonies, number 3 and 5 since about 18 years old.

I was reminded of this by Radio 3 saying that it was Steven Hough's 61st birthday, having been born on this day in 1961 on the Wirral: Then they played a recording by him of a piano piece. 

It is also St Cecilia's day, and was Benjamin Britten's birthday too.

Anyway, I should try a few piano pieces by Schubert instead of Bach, and Greig, and Brahms, and Handel, etc.

I will start off with something known and easier, I think.

 Rog Wilko 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

My piano playing is at an even lower standard than my climbing, if that’s possible. If I could play, it would be Schubert all the time. I envy you.

 Andy Clarke 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

In a few weeks I shall be taking my annual pre-Xmas journey through the bleak and frozen landscape of Wintereisse, as a bulwark against the onslaught of muzakical jollity.

 jcw 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

At last, recognition. But the subtlety of shift in virtually every bar makes. even the simplest pieces much more difficult to play than appears, and the resulting complex of accidentals makes sight-reading hard. But what rewards. So persevere and perhaps one day you might look at that early masterpiece which remains my favourite bash, the Wanderer Fantasy.  It is not all totally impossible.  

 Sean Kelly 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

Try the Impromptus, 8 lovely pieces to listen to, if a little beyond the skills of the average pianist.

 Toccata 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

While not for the piano, Death and the Maiden is one of my desert island discs (particularly the andante). 

 Rog Wilko 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

This should be on the culture forum.

1
In reply to veteye:

For superlative Schubert piano performances listen to Maurizio Pollini's Wanderer Fantasia (DG, 1974) and Murray Perahia's Impromptus (CBS Masterworks, 1983), if you haven't heard those before. Some of the Impromptus and parts of the Fantasia are approachable by modest to poor piano players like myself.

 magma 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

the trout quintet is popular.. youtube.com/watch?v=J_nKAXM9CY8&

 Myfyr Tomos 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

Funny you should mention "neglected" Schubert - same here. Currently making amends and listening to his complete church music, recordings made in the late 70s by Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Bayerischen RSO and Choir. It is interesting to note how his music evolved from his early years to the final months of his short life and how his disillusionment with the Catholic church guided his works. 

 Myfyr Tomos 22 Nov 2022
In reply to Andy Clarke:

For bleak and frozen landscapes you can't beat Pears/Britten...

 mbh 22 Nov 2022
In reply to veteye:

Schubert's piano works are brilliant. I have a soft spot for recordings of them by Radu Lupu, since I went to a concert of his with my Dad, shortly before Dad died, and liked the cut of his jib. A very thoughtful and expressive chap, I thought. I had the first movement of D894 played at Dad's funeral. I found it extraordinarily beautiful and powerful then and still do, thirty years later.

I also very much like his Fantasia for four hands D940, that Lupu plays in a recording with Murray Perahia.

I couldn't tell you whether either of these pieces are approachable by a pianist less skilled than Lupu, but D894 might be so, I would guess, at least in parts.

Post edited at 21:11
In reply to mbh:

I agree with you about Radu Lupu.

I think the least difficult of the sonatas is probably D845 in A minor.

OP veteye 23 Nov 2022
In reply to Toccata:

I love that piece too, but I see it as equal to Smetana's quartet, which I think is called something like "my life", which emulates something of how he saw his deafness. I played the latter a lot in my early twenties when I needed some peace in my life. I bought the LP with the advice of a record shop owner on the road from Hyndland towards the park on the other side of vet school in Bearsden, Glasgow. A small shop, but it influenced my take up of classical music for the 5 years that I was an undergraduate. (I was there in the last couple of weeks, and sadly it is no longer there). Sorry for the early morning rambling. It is early for me, and I'm off to a CPD day at the RVC at Potter's Bar; so need to be there early.

OP veteye 23 Nov 2022
In reply to mbh:

> I also very much like his Fantasia for four hands D940, that Lupu plays in a recording with Murray Perahia.

Sadly I doubt that I will see even the latter perform, as I think that some of Perahia's recordings are the best (such as his recording of the Goldberg variations by Bach). Unfortunately he cancelled a concert which I was going to go to, due to poor health, and has not played publicly since, as far as I know. Plus Radu Lupu was brilliant. So I'll try and look up the recording of D940.

> I couldn't tell you whether either of these pieces are approachable by a pianist less skilled than Lupu, but D894 might be so, I would guess, at least in parts.

So I will have to get the music for the latter, and give it a go. Thank you.

OP veteye 23 Nov 2022
In reply to Myfyr Tomos:

Again I do not know much of his church music (I don't think), but there is a lot of Lieder. My singing teacher (I was a choir boy who went in for a lot of competitions) used to say that Schubert wrote his music down on anything he had to hand when his mind brought up an idea, even match boxes. That idea has stuck in my head since I was about 10-11 years of age.

OP veteye 23 Nov 2022
In reply to John Stainforth:

I'll give the recordings, and the sheet music a go.

Thank you.

OP veteye 23 Nov 2022
In reply to Sean Kelly:

> Try the Impromptus, 8 lovely pieces to listen to, if a little beyond the skills of the average pianist.

I will give them a go, as if you don't have a look at more difficult pieces, you'll always wonder if you could have done them. I just need to find more free time to practice.... Sometimes I have a go at Ballade No 2 by Chopin, and some days I manage to hold it together reasonably, and I'm pleased with myself for being to keep the concentration.

OP veteye 23 Nov 2022
In reply to Andy Clarke:

> In a few weeks I shall be taking my annual pre-Xmas journey through the bleak and frozen landscape of Wintereisse, as a bulwark against the onslaught of muzakical jollity.

That piece seems to have been performed more in recent years, and there have been newer recordings, so it is more on my radar.


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