The Christopher Clarke fortepiano (based on an 1827 Graf model) that Andreas Staier uses for this Schubert recital stands out both for its striking variety of timbres between registers and within dynamic extremes and for its tenuous tuning. More importantly, Staier largely exploits these qualities for maximum expressive impact over the course of Schubert’s G major sonata and D. 935 Impromptus, proving himself just as intense and individual a Schubertian as he was in his splendid Warner Classics recording of the same composer’s A minor D. 845 sonata.
The G major’s first-movement exposition’s muted soft passages and perfectly timed rubatos spill over into Staier’s curvaceous yet controlled unfolding of the Andante. With just a minimum of inflection Staier manages to distinctly characterize the Scherzo’s minor and major themes, and he takes special care to give clarity and shape to the Allegretto finale’s repeated chords and repeated notes.
Some of Staier’s rhetorical phrase elongations in the first D. 9353 Impromptu may appear a little “much”, yet the interpretation’s impetuous, forward motion appeals to me. Conversely, Staier’s rigorously unified tempo relationships among the B-flat Impromptu’s theme and variations would benefit from similar interpretive leeway. The brisk, one beat to a bar feeling Staier communicates in the A-flat Impromptu may surprise those accustomed to more traditionally lyrical, deliberate, and cushy accounts (Curzon or Lupu, for example). In the concluding F minor Impromptu Staier plays down the music’s internal thrust and scherzando energy in favor of precise yet rather prim-sounding fingerwork. However, don’t let my minor reservations prevent you from checking out Staier’s compelling artistry, particularly in the G major sonata.
