One inevitably wonders why pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and tenor Ian Bostridge have joined together for this disc of one sonata and four songs by Schubert. Is there a subtle tie between the sonata and the songs? Are the songs' melodies the basis of the one or more movements of the sonata? Are the song's emotional contents somehow connected to those reflected in the sonatas? Or is it just a capricious whim of the two brilliant musicians? Capricious whim it is -- according to an interview with Andsnes included with the disc, the ...
Read More
One inevitably wonders why pianist Leif Ove Andsnes and tenor Ian Bostridge have joined together for this disc of one sonata and four songs by Schubert. Is there a subtle tie between the sonata and the songs? Are the songs' melodies the basis of the one or more movements of the sonata? Are the song's emotional contents somehow connected to those reflected in the sonatas? Or is it just a capricious whim of the two brilliant musicians? Capricious whim it is -- according to an interview with Andsnes included with the disc, the singer and pianist enjoy performing together, and they thought this would make an apt if not particularly conjoined program. Does this diminish the pleasure of the disc? Not at all. Andsnes' acute virtuosity and analytical interpretation of the Sonata in A major and Bostridge's tough yet tender performances of the four songs are all splendidly done. If at first Andsnes' interpretation seems a bit too abrupt and brusque for the sonata's long lines and expansive structures to sustain,...
Read Less