Schubert: Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, (Kovacevich)

Everyone – quite reasonably – lauds the Richter account of this profound and groundbreaking work, but it turns out Schubert had some ideas of his own about how this sonata to be played, and this breathtaking account by Kovacevich comes as close to definitive as I can imagine. He plays a genuine pianissimo and molto moderato, and his interpretation contains a sense of unease and urgency that is hugely compelling. There is no slouch toward profundity, no gesture of unnecessary sophistication. Instead there is a consistent variety of articulation -- warmth [23:22], sadness, violence, tranquility -- all as the work demands it. Schubert’s final sonata is famed for its sense of inner stillness, but often that’s just a function of tempo – there’s a lot of compulsion and vigour in it, as Kovacevich’s recording shows. What is truly extraordinary about this sonata, however, is its harmonic life. The is full of harmonic shifts of vast structural violence which nonetheless sound perfectly serene – “magical”