Andras Schiff's Schubert marathon

András Schiff - Wigmore Hall, 15 May 2008

Schubert – Impromptus, D.899, Moments Musicaux, D.780, Drei Klavierstücke, D.946, Impromptus, D.935

It rarely seemed that way, but this was an unusually long evening, with a 90 minute first half and another half an hour in the second. I'm not sure of the purpose of stuffing so much into the first half, but the main effect was to underline how much less consequential the six Moments Musicaux are than the Impromptus and Klavierstücke Schiff framed them with.

Schiff had performed the same programme in the Wigmore Hall the previous evening. How draining that had been is a matter of speculation. But Schiff made a surprising number of clunky errors in the first set of Impromptus. Painting with a broad brush, sparing of pedal, he took a bold and decisive line. His left hand sang out purposefully -- it was grave and relentless stuff, with little of the improvisatory flavour of his playful approach the last time I heard him perform these pieces.

He seemed reluctant to take a break between these and the Moments Musicaux which followed. Visibly itching for the applause to end, he launched in as soon as was decent, and seemed suddenly more relaxed and able to explore a lighter lyrical side, though again without great refinement of detail.

With the Drei Klavierstücke, again kicked off after a pause of mere seconds, he returned to the bold outlines of the earlier part of the programme, as if he had plenty to say but nothing left to ask.

The break between the first and second half seemed to rejuvenate Schiff. With the D.935 Impromptus he was fully alert to the interplay of line and gave a considerably more detailed, considered and frankly musical performance. Particularly in the startlingly forward-looking final F minor Impromptu, Schiff finally sounded as if he had unlocked something not only in Schubert but also in himself.

Encoring with Schubert's Hungarian Melody D.817, Schiff bizarrely sounded more far more energised and alive than he had at the start of the recital, cleverly leaving us wanting more. And after over two hours of performance, that's no mean feat.

This video is part of a masterclass Schiff gave - it's interesting in the context of what I noticed in the recital to see how he's focussing more on what his student should take out than on what she needs to put in: