Customer Reviews

Schubert: Fantasia C major (D 934) - Sonata A major (D 574) - Rondo B minor (D 985) [Complete Works for Violin and Pianoforte, Vol. 2]

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For some reason, certain parts of Schubert's oeuvre are rarely, if ever, recorded in period instrument per
performances. There are a scant few recordings of the 3 sonatinas and this sonata, but as far as I know, these are the only versions available of the Fantasia in C major and the Rondo brillante in b minor.

Fortunately for those of us who prefer period instruments, these recordings are gems. Anton Steck is the rising star of PI violinists. His work with the Schuppanzigh Quartet doing works of Haydn, Ries and others has been first-rate. Same for his Vivaldi disk from the Opus 111 series. Accompanied by Robert Hill, a top-rank period keyboardist playing a very nice sounding pianoforte (unfortunately not described). I had high hopes for this disk and they were amply fulfilled.

If you aren't sure about period instrument performances and, maybe, buy into the old line about sounding like museum pieces, this would be a good disk to get you started into the world of Historically Informed Performance. If you are an old hand with HIP and would like to fill a gap in your Schubert collection, look no further!

An excellent disc featuring Schubert's grandest violin sonata plus two late virtuosic pieces. The Rondo has a performance time of approx. 15mins; the Fantasy, 25mins. Performances are superb.