Search - Schubert, Schiff :: Piano Sonatas

András Schiff's series of the complete Schubert sonatas met with highly uneven critical response from volume to volume, and only a few of the discs are still in London's catalog. This volume combines two relatively unfamiliar works with the sunny D. 664, a good performance that doesn't reach the heights of Radu Lupu's recording (also for London). D. 459 isn't really a sonata, but rather five pieces gathered together after Schubert's death. Schiff plays them with relaxed lyricism and makes an effective experience out of them. He also does well with the early D. 157. This disc is a fine Schubert collection, but not a necessary one for the general collector who will need only a good D. 664 and can do without the others. --Leslie Gerber