Schubert - Piano Sonata 21 [Kovacevich]
Just as a note, this disc is actually the one recorded in 1982 for Hyperion records, and not the one shown in the scan, i had both discs, and i compressed them down into a double disc slimline case, the artwork for the Hyperion is missing.
The American Stephen Kovacevich lives in London, a great interpreter of Schubert and Beethoven, in this recording, the Sonata is slightly more moody, brooding and darker than his later 1994 recording for EMI, it's good to have both versions to compare.
The recording is made in a very slightly reverberant acoustic, yet a nice full piano sound, a lovely ring in the treble, and a deep growl in the bass, the different colours of the piano stand out nicely, the engineers have caught the recording well, and the booklet picture is a great shot by David Thompson, nice and moody.
Of course my favourite movement is the opening Molto Moderato first, he takes the opening slightly fast, but sustains it well, he incorporates the exposition repeat into his performance, making this movement almost as long as the rest of the Sonata put together, his left hand playing is a delight, there's lots of repititious notes here, but kovacevich sustains the incredible intensity so well by varying things ever so subtly, try 11:20 to 13:28 as a good sample, you can certainly hear the creator of the Impromptus in this passage, if i could sum up one word it would be 'intensity', Kovacevich takes us deep into Schubert's soundworld and psyche, this music makes me glad to be alive.
Here is Maria Joao Pires playing the first movement on YouTube.
