Cerebral Pianism

A recital of Schubert solo piano works by Arcadi Volodos, featuring Sonata in E major for piano ( Unfinished ) D157, Sonata in G major for piano D894 and Der Muller und der Bach arranged by Liszt. Volodos is one of those cerebral, slightly neurotic pianists. He recently took time out from recording because he didn't feel that he had anything of any significance to say but he seems to be now embarked on projects once more. To my layman's ears, this is certainly a fine recital. For a long time, virtuoso piano soloists ignored Schubert's sonatas as being too intimate, subtle and modest in demeanour and likely by their length to test the patience of audiences looking for spectacle and pyrotechnics. Fortunately, that tendency has now been overcome and they take their place in the canon of works that are regularly played, interpreted and appreciated for their below the surface qualities and symphonic scope. The arrangement of a Schubert song from Die Schone Mullerin is one of many that Liszt did. In this case it is the final song of that cycle where the young miller contemplates death by drowning having failed in his quest for requited love. An elegiac close to this disk that the booklet notes describe as appropriate since it was the final recording made in the space of the Sofiensall in Vienna before that venue burned to the ground.