Alfred Brendel - Schubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 14 & 17 (1988)

There's an extraordinary amount of highly experimental writing in Schubert's piano sonatas.
The essence of their structure is the contrasting of big heroic ideas with tender and inner thoughts; the first impresses the listener, the second woos him. The two works on this CD are in some ways on a varying scale. The D major, D850, lasts for 40 minutes, the A minor, D784, for around 23. However, it's the latter that contains the most symphonically inspired writing-– -it sounds as if it could easily be transposed for orchestra. Alfred Brendel presents the composer not so much as the master of Lieder-writing, but more as a man thinking in large forms. Although there are wonderful quiet moments when intimate asides are conveyed with an imaginative sensitivity one remembers more the urgency and the power behind the notes. The A minor, with its frequently recurring themes, is almost obsessive in character, while the big D major Sonata is rather lighter in its mood, especially in the outer movements. The recorded sound is very faithful to the pianist's tone, while generally avoiding that insistent quality that can mar his loudest playing.