Weekend Concert 9: Swan Song on the Keyboard

2006/9/15 13:59:01

When later generations collected Schubert's last art songs into "Swan Song," in the final months of his life, in the instrumental realm, he likewise sang an incomparable swan song. The C major String Quintet is of course supreme, but his last three piano sonatas are equally a farewell -- a swan song on the keyboard.

Schubert wrote over 20 piano sonatas. In this domain, he stands as a peak rivaling Beethoven. This point, in today's more pluralistic artistic climate, is accepted by an increasing number of people. The performance of Schubert's piano music has gradually become a specialized category, because the interpretive possibilities of Schubert's piano music can inspire performers' inspiration and creativity even more than Beethoven's. In a sense, perfectly performing Schubert is probably one of the greatest challenges in piano performance. This has nothing to do with technique -- the technical demands of Schubert's piano music are not particularly high, but the musical interpretive demands are extraordinarily high. Whether a performer is a master or a novice may not be distinguishable when playing Chopin, Liszt, or Rachmaninoff, but when playing Schubert, all lesser players have nowhere to hide.

Schubert's music -- whether piano, string quartets, art songs, or even symphonies -- is reserved for true masters, because Schubert wrote music, not sound or piles of notes. Every time I listen to the music Schubert wrote in his last few months, I can't help but marvel: if his life hadn't ended before the age of 32, what treasures he might have left behind, what heights he might have scaled.

Music is not for explaining -- music only needs listening. These three piano sonatas are played in sequence: No. 19 in C minor, No. 20 in A major, and No. 21 in B-flat major, all in four-movement structures. Please turn off all other background music.