German violinist Carolin Widmann has specialized mostly in contemporary repertory, and her approach to Schubert bears the marks of that specialty: her playing here is spiky, given to emphasis on small structural details, full of sharp contrasts without being especially high in sentiment. You might or might not like it as a general rule, but here it fulfills her purpose and that of pianist Alexander Lonquich. Schubert's comparatively sparse output for violin and piano has never gotten its due, and Widmann's reading here ...
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German violinist Carolin Widmann has specialized mostly in contemporary repertory, and her approach to Schubert bears the marks of that specialty: her playing here is spiky, given to emphasis on small structural details, full of sharp contrasts without being especially high in sentiment. You might or might not like it as a general rule, but here it fulfills her purpose and that of pianist Alexander Lonquich. Schubert's comparatively sparse output for violin and piano has never gotten its due, and Widmann's reading here compels the listener to take the music seriously. Schubert's late piano sonatas, last symphony, and late choral music are so heavily programmed that it may come as a surprise to learn of other works of the period that are equal to these in quality, yet are not often heard. That's exactly what you get with the Fantasie for violin and piano in C major, D. 934, and the Rondo for violin and piano in B minor, D. 895. The Fantasie is a close cousin to the Wanderer Fantasie for piano, but is...
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