Schubert’s Piano Edited by Matthew Gardner and Christine Martin
Cambridge University Press, 378pp
A music club concert promoter once confessed his relief that my programme didn’t contain Schubert piano sonatas, because ‘most members of the audience can play them themselves if they want to’. ‘No need to pay someone for that!’, he added, just in case I didn’t get the hint. It’s true that Schubert was no virtuoso, as we’re regularly being reminded in this volume, but he was undoubtedly a fluent player and an accomplished improviser. His piano pieces, contrary to received wisdom in some quarters, demand the refined touch and musical sensitivity that imply the possession of an advanced, if not necessarily flashy, keyboard technique.
It’s true that we don’t look to Schubert for pianistic novelty, even if the…
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International Piano (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2025