Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 958, 959, 960
Murray Perahia, piano
Sony Classical S2K 87706
Released: May 2003

 
Pianist Murray Perahia's latest CD features Franz Schubert's (1797-1828) last three Sonatas, written while the 31-year-old composer was sick, and completed just two months before his death. These final works of Schubert have almost symphonic dimensions, with four movements each. As Fred Child notes, "It almost seems as if Schubert spent every waking minute getting all the music inside him out onto paper."

Perahia brings to life all the energy and creativity in what Schubert wrote. Since Perahia's return to the concert stage five years ago, after two years of recovering from a hand injury, audiences have witnessed an astonishing new depth and maturity to his playing, especially in his critically acclaimed interpretations and recordings of Bach. Perahia brings this same maturity to his new Schubert recording.

Pierre Ruhe, music critic of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, considers Perahia's recording to be one of the best CDs to come from an American pianist in a long time. Ruhe declares, "Perahia's in such control in the Schubert, but mature enough so he can also step back and let the music unfurl on its own... There's so much wisdom and insight in his playing." Perahia plays with so much color, nuance, and elegance, and when he needs to, with a tremendous force and an explosive energy. "He makes the A Major Sonata sound like one of the most interesting pieces in the repertoire."