Schubert - 3 Klavierstucke [Pollini]
Maurizio Pollini's late Schubert has great authority, these are wonderful recordings, this boxset is rather very special, one of the best things Pollini has done.
The 3 Klavierstucke [a title created by Brahms], are in essence a third set of 4 Impromptus by Schubert, but only three were ever written, they seem different than the first eight, more freer maybe, but certainly they don't 'complete' the set, they can't quite be considered of the same 'species'.
The second Klavierstucke is the longest, and in some ways the best, i really got into this piece today, it's starts as a lovely gentle song-like piece of music, a hint of dance / landler to it [0:00-1:58], but then come the dark clouds [as is so often the case with Schubert], the second section has some stamping to it at first, it constantly threatens to erupt into something else, but it never does [1:59-4:23], instead the the gentle opening returns to soothe us again [4:23-5:28], then a new section appears, faster music than before, very lyrical indeed, with only a hint of darkness to it [5:28-9:53], i believe this is the most exciting part of this piece, it flows so superbly, this section has some more forceful/louder episodes to it, but it eventually dies away and calms, and it finishes coda-like with the same gentle opening theme [9:53-11:09], a very accomplished creation, Schubert truly knows how to excite the brain with sounds.
Here's Alfred Brendel playing the second Klavierstucke on YouTube.
