Francesco Piemontesi / Klavierabend
Pianomania: Schubert’s Sonatas
Birth of a myth
Bavarian Radio described Francesco Piemontesi’s Schubert interpretations as »nothing short of stellar«. And rightly so: there are few pianists who manage to get to the heart of this music as convincingly as the Swiss artist, who was born in 1983. The combination of drama and deep intimacy reflects not least the influence of Piemontesi’s mentor, the great keyboard guru Alfred Brendel.
The programme features two true heavyweights in the shape of the sonatas D 894 and D 960. The first of the two pieces owes its name to the wealth of imagination, the almost uncontrollable flood of ideas with which Schubert responds to the challenges of the form.
D 960, also known as the »great B flat sonata«, was the last piano sonata that the composer wrote. The infinite depth and breadth of the melodies in the first movement, as well as the almost inexpressible melancholy of the second, give it the aura of a farewell work. And Schubert did indeed die just a few months after completing it in August 1828. A few decades later, the »great B flat sonata« gained mythical quality thanks to its rediscovery by Robert Schumann.
Performers
Francesco Piemontesi piano
Programme
Franz Schubert
Sonate G-Dur D 894 »Fantasiesonate«
– Interval –
Franz Schubert
Sonata in B-flat major, D 960
Subscription
Pianomania