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06/15/2023
Franz Schubert: Impromptu in B‑Flat major, D. 935 (opus 142) n° 3 – Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 959 – Schwanengesang, D. 957; 4. “Ständchen” (arr. F. Liszt)
Pam Goldberg (pianist)
Recording: American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City, New York (January 2017) – 55’13
MSR Classics MS1823 – Booklet in English
 
I’ve been putting off reviewing Pam Goldberg’s performance of Schubert’s Sonata in A Major (MSR Classics). This sonata, composed at the end of Schubert’s exasperatingly short life, demands everything from the listener and at least as much from the performer. In a world swimming in light music, this is a work of weight, substance and complexity. It is hard work to listen to. It ruthlessly grabs and demands our attention, and we yield because it is also beautiful and perhaps even perfect. My lazy self did not want to become entrapped.
But that’s exactly what happened as I listened at last to Goldberg’s interpretation. From the first A- Major chord to the decisive final notes in the same key, Goldberg plays this difficult work with an intermingled blend of intelligence and elegance, technical skill and emotional depth. Goldberg realizes that Schubert is the fulcrum on which classicism and romanticism pivot. Her reading swings more to the classical style, with clarity, crisp attacks and strict adherence to the dictates of the score. Yet within this structure, she is able to release the flow of music from its captivity in form and structure. By the end of the opening “Allegro”, I paid less attention to the conventions of a more classical approach and instead became immersed in Schubert’s holistic vision, his quirky harmonic shifts, and serendipitous rhythms.
This was especially true in the second movement “Andantino”, a kind of swaying barcarolle. Its treble voice of ultra‑simplicity overlies a bass line which cushions the melody as two cupped hands might embrace a small bird. Goldberg effortlessly transitions to a flock of 32nd notes which patters on for more than a page of the score. In conclusion to the second movement, Goldberg unrolls a sequence of triads which tiptoes into a triple‑p conclusion. No less wondrous is Schubert’s writing and Goldberg’s articulation in the final two movements.
The first work on this album was less than a fitting prelude to the marvels of the Sonata. Although Goldberg’s instrument (a Steinway B 1978) sounded fine in the larger work, it had a tinny and metallic ring in Schubert’s Impromptu in B‑Flat major. In this shorter selection, Schubert could have been played with more abandon and warmth, in less of a clipped and understated style.
The album concluded with the Schubert‑Liszt Ständchen in a charming performance by the featured artist. But it is clearly the sonata that is the star of this production. In it, Goldberg wields impeccable technique and insightful intelligence to give us an original version of this masterwork, filled with wonder and truth.
Linda Holt
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