Eldar Nebolsin’s Schubert playing is straightforward, intelligently musical, and technically superb. His mastery is such that he can afford to dispatch the Wanderer Fantasy’s notorious first-movement octaves in tempo (most pianists slow down) and sail through the coda without the least hint of a scramble. Also note the variety in articulation that he brings to the A minor sonata’s Allegretto quasi andantino, and to the A major outer movements’ flexible, vocally oriented phrasing. Still, this D. 664 does not quite match Radu Lupu or Anna Malikova for supple finger-work and winged lightness, not to mention Leon Fleisher’s angular urgency. Nor does Nebolsin challenge Kempff’s poetic intimacy and tonal shadings in D. 537, or Richter’s still unrivaled combination of power and translusence in the Wanderer Fantasy. Part of the problem lies with Naxos’ strident, monochrome sonics, which hardly represent the warm sonority and tonal ripeness that Nebolsin produces in live recital. Special kudos for Keith Anderson’s well-written, informative annotations.
