Wherever András Schiff appears, the instrument feels delightfully warm under his fingers: be it a mahogany grand piano or André Stein’s fortepiano from circa 1820. The way Schiff makes Franz Schubert shine is unique. The audience in the Mozart Hall at the Wiener Konzerthaus does not know in advance what Schubert’s soloist will perform on Sunday evening. Shiv’s theme is “Let’s Enjoy the Silence”. Contrary to his words, the voice gets louder in places. That is, when it hits the pitch, the contra-C range to the F4 of the Stein Grand Piano gets it right. This is a sophisticated reading of Schubert that is by no means dull: intimacy spills over in the Allegretto in C minor, becomes deep in the Moment in F minor, and Schubert’s Last Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat enlivens with a lively radiance; The many echo effects are particularly charming. There couldn’t be a more wonderful end to the weekend.
Talented solo lanes
After the interlude, they are joined by Eric Hobarth (violin) and Christophe Coen (cello) with their period instruments and perform the Schubert Trio in flat major. Although it takes the violin its first few minutes to really warm up and for the three voices to gain coherence, you can feel a common interpretive approach right from the start, and the virtuoso individual syllables are conveyed with convincing clarity.
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