Search - Franz Schubert, Maria João Pires :: Maria João Pires - Le Voyage Magnifique ~ Schubert Impromtus

Poetic Schubert

toscha | Palo Alto, CA USA | 12/08/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 2 CD set was my first Pires recording I bought and I am enjoying immensely. I especially like her recording of 3 klavierstucke and the Allegretto in C minor (one of my favorite Schubert piece). Here her playing has all the sensitivity and poetic quality these pieces requires. Her tonal shading is exquisite. The Impromptus are also fine, but I prefer the old Schnabel recording for bigger pieces like the C minor from the first set and two F minors from the second set. Schnabel had more gutsy vitality that seems to suit those pieces, and he had no shortage in terms of sensitivity either. But Pires matches him in all the other Impromptus (and of course the recording quality is superb). Strongly recommended."

Throwback to a Lost Past

T. Cheng | Diamond Bar, CA USA | 05/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is very much a performance along Romantic lines of thought in tempi and rubato, in a time where period performance is the craze and strict adherence to the score is held sacred. Almost a throwback to the ways that perhaps Lizst and the great pianists of the late 19th century played. In this aspect, this is an invaluable document of playing practice that is lost.

In the E flat Major Impromptu, I have not heard it better played. With great speed passage work, and great power when necessary, yet in the delicate fast variation there is gentle beauty.

However comparing the Drei Klavierstucke with Alfred Brendel, in the 2nd piece I personally find the rubato (rubato= "robbed time", where the speed and timing are changed by the performer)to be too much. The tempi of the great 2nd subject is slowed to a point where, Pires obviously in love with the music and feeling it deeply, stops the momentum of the work and it becomes halting. Listen to Brendel in this same work. This is one of Schubert's best melodies. In Brendel's hands this is a thing of inspiration which moves with confidence and has a life to it's flow. For me, the Brendel is preferable, however that is not to invalidate Pires approach.



Indeed, in the first of the Drei Klavierstucke, Pires' approach works pure, Romantic magic...listen to the repeated notes, like bells in some distant church, on some misty, early morning."

Just fantastic

T. Cheng | 10/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've heard the Impromptus played by other masters of the piano, and though something about them has always held a mystery and romance (perhaps it's merely the cadence of the word, impromptu), I had not found a really fine interpretation until I heard this album. Wow. I was listening to it in work and I have to say my productivity suffered, since I was enraptured. Pires fleshes out the notes and phrasing, bringing both a lyricism and an emotive quality that is just absolutely stunning. I like the word 'magnificent' in the title of the album, because that is what I would call this music. Other performances are cold and wilting in comparison. I can just picture Schubert listening in and being amazed at what his minor works have become -- quite charming, lyrical, and romantic under Pires strong/delicate touch. As a pianist, there is none finer at conveying emotion than Pires. If you are in the market for a beautiful and unusual performance, one that is incredibly memorable, try these recordings."