November 2007

Schubert - 3 Sonatinas, Op. 137; Sonata in A, Op. 574
Andrew Manze, violin; Richad Egarr, fortepiano
Harmonia Mundi HMU 907445
Format: CD
Released: 2007
Musical Performance ****
Recording Quality ****
Overall Enjoyment ****
 

Bach - The Well Tempered Clavier, Book I
Richard Egarr, harpsichord
Harmonia Mundi HMU 907431.32
Format: CD
Released: 2007

Musical Performance ****
Recording Quality ****
Overall Enjoyment ****

by Richard Freed
richardf@soundstage.com

Schubert’s violin sonatas seem to remain on the fringe of the standard repertory, never in danger of being overexposed. The three earlier ones, composed at age 19 (March-April 1816), were published posthumously as "sonatinas," but they are neither miniature nor lightweight, though they are characteristically ingratiating. The very opening of the first one, in D major, is an assurance of that, and interest never flags throughout this remarkable triptych. The still more substantial Sonata in A major (sometimes labeled simply "Duo") shows Schubert entering his rich maturity at 20.

The violinist Johanna Martzy and the pianist Jean Antonietti provided an enduring benchmark in the early 1950s, in their EMI recordings of all six of Schubert’s works for their instruments. Just last year Newport issued an attractive set with Arnold Steinhardt and Seymour Lipkin. Manze and Egarr make less, perhaps, of the music’s Gemütlichkeit, focusing on its somewhat unexpected boldness. Using instruments from Schubert’s own time, they do not neglect the material’s lyric character, but they bring out a level of assertiveness that seems to explain the impulse to produce such works. I hope they will get round to the Fantasy in C (actually the grandest of Schubert’s duo sonatas) and the expansive Rondo in B minor. Meanwhile, these vigorous, affectionate performances are enhanced by first-rate sound and Manze’s own very enlightening annotation.

Through mid-November Manze and Egarr are performing in 11 US and Canadian cities. In time for their arrival, Harmonia Mundi has brought out the Schubert CD and Egarr’s stimulating account of The Well Tempered Clavier, Book I, played on a 1638 harpsichord "in Bach’s own tuning." In contrast to the Schubert works too seldom heard, this set shines revitalizing light on music we may have thought we knew inside out, but which is always loaded with surprises.

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