Schubert: Piano Works (1994)

Sure, there have been better performances of the works on this disc of Schubert piano music by David Golub. So what? Sure, Sviatoslav Richter's 1963 recording of the Wanderer Fantasy is overwhelming in its virtuosity. Sure, Richter's 1971 recording of the Reliquie Sonata is unbearable in its spirituality. Sure, Richter never recorded the Drei Klavierstücke, but there are nevertheless superlative performances available from Maurizio Pollini, András Schiff, Alfred Brendel, and Wilhelm Kempff, and all of them equal if not ... Read More

Sure, there have been better performances of the works on this disc of Schubert piano music by David Golub. So what? Sure, Sviatoslav Richter's 1963 recording of the Wanderer Fantasy is overwhelming in its virtuosity. Sure, Richter's 1971 recording of the Reliquie Sonata is unbearable in its spirituality. Sure, Richter never recorded the Drei Klavierstücke, but there are nevertheless superlative performances available from Maurizio Pollini, András Schiff, Alfred Brendel, and Wilhelm Kempff, and all of them equal if not surpass Golub's performances.But that's not really the point, is it? After all, if the player has something to say and the ability to say it, don't his/her performances deserve to be heard? Sure they do. David Golub is a terrific pianist with a virtuoso technique, a sensitive touch, and a soulful feel for the music and he has something very important to say about Schubert's music. For Golub, the Wanderer Fantasy is one of the great single-movement piano works of the nineteenth century,... Read Less