German pianist Sebastian Knauer introduces his notes for this disc by pointing to the large amount of Schubert's music that remains unknown, even to specialists. This ambitious disc is devoted to uncovering some of it, and even if it's arguably too smart for its own good in places, it's still very intelligent and never dull. Knauer is one of those pianists who finds intellect in Schubert above all, almost to the exclusion of Viennese good times. His patient, detailed set of Impromptus, D. 935, hardly have any impromptu ...
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German pianist Sebastian Knauer introduces his notes for this disc by pointing to the large amount of Schubert's music that remains unknown, even to specialists. This ambitious disc is devoted to uncovering some of it, and even if it's arguably too smart for its own good in places, it's still very intelligent and never dull. Knauer is one of those pianists who finds intellect in Schubert above all, almost to the exclusion of Viennese good times. His patient, detailed set of Impromptus, D. 935, hardly have any impromptu quality at all. Knauer seems to constantly be searching for the structural significance of the notes instead of just letting them flow. With the so-called Sonate Oubliée, D 916B, however, he is in his element. This alleged forgotten sonata is a hypothesis of pianist Jörg Demus, who reasoned that two independent piano sketches from late in Schubert's life were planned as the outer movements of a C major Piano Sonata. As completed by Demus and Roland Sölder, with the Allegretto in C minor,...
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