Schubert: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.2 (1996)

Walter Klien Plays Schubert -- 2

When I was young, my love of classical music was formed by the many inexpensive recordings on Vox and on related labels. Among the performers on these recordings was the Austrian pianist Walter Klien (1928 -- 1991). Klien's extensive recordings included the complete piano concertos of Mozart, the piano works of Brahms, and the complete piano sonatas of Franz Schubert. Klien's Schubert recordings date from 1974. By that time Schubert's sonatas had emerged from a long period of obscurity but were still not well-known to many listeners. Schubert's sonatas are long, reflective, meandering, and full of song. They lack the careful formal structure and the drive of Beethoven's sonatas. I have loved Beethoven's sonatas for a long time and came to love the sonatas of Schubert somewhat later.

Schubert's sonatas are good to hear in private and they have been bringing me comfort lately in Klien's performances. With many wonderful recordings to choose from, Klien brings a lyrical, self-effacing character to his interpretations. His playing is light, simple, and clear without mannerism or the tendency to over-dramatize. The depths of Schubert's music comes through in the unforced lyricism of Klien's performance.

Klien performs six sonatas on this set, which includes two early works, in E major, D. 157 and C. major, D. 279, together with works written later in Schubert's short life, including the A major sonata, D. 664, the sonata in A minor, D. 784, the sonata in D major D. 850, "Gasteiner", and the posthumously published sonata in A major, D. 959. I was moved by the beauty of the music in Klien's performance.

I have played two of the sonatas on this recording for myself. The "little" A major, D. 664, is Schubert's best-known sonata and is filled with melody from its opening theme through its quicksilver, shifting finale. I have heard many readings of this work and was inspired to hear it through Klien. The A minor sonata, D. 784, is a darker, more difficult work to play that has many admirers. The work constrasts dramatic, foreboding opening themes with secondary themes of lyricism and hope. Unlike most sonatas, the second themes in the outer movements come to receive the most emphasis.

The A major sonata D. 859, is the middle work of Schubert's final three works in this form. Klien performs it with beautiful clarity and feeling. The highlights of the sonata include a sad, flowing slow movement with a dramatic middle section and a wonderfully extended and elevated rondo for the concluding movement, my favorite single movement of the sonatas.

I was taken with the "Gasteiner" sonata, D. 850, which I hadn't known as well as some of the others. The Gasteiner is a long, virtuosic, dramatic sonata, perhaps in its virtuosity resembling the "Wanderer" Fantasy. The work is much more in the manner of Beethoven than are most of the other sonatas. Both the sonata and Klien's performance have received mixed reactions. I read some of the reviews of D. 850, both of Klien's performance and of the performances of other artists. Although I have heard the work before, I don't remember loving and drawing inspiration from it as much as I did here. It was something almost new and the highlight of my listening.

Listening to these sonatas brought back memories of the old days of LPs and of my love for music and for Schubert. Klien's performances brought me solace and inspiration during a difficult time.

Total Time: Two Hours and Thirty-Two Minutes

Robin Friedman