My first impression upon hearing this disc concerned the unattractive sound. Its dry ambience, constricted dynamics, and lack of sonic warmth hardly justify the label’s “audiophile” banner. Massimiliano Damerini brings admirable energy to the D. 784 A minor Sonata’s outer movements, even if he misses the effortless singing lines, rhythmic concentration, variety of nuance, and emotional contrast you get from pianists as diverse as Richter, Uchida, Kempff, and Hough, among my favorites in this work. In the Finale’s last 10 measures, Damerini suddenly slams down the brakes to ensure clean octaves–and ruins the movement’s payoff. He begins the D. 845 A minor Sonata at Schubert’s marked Moderato, but then he inexplicably launches into a faster tempo at measure 10 rather than resuming with Tempo I as Schubert indicates. This throws the movement’s organic unity a bit off-kilter. Damerini handles the slow movement variations with less poise and digital adroitness than either Uchida or Goode, but his Scherzo is wonderfully nimble and lightly sprung. The disc opens with both original and revised versions of Schubert’s early, hymn-like Adagio in G D. 178. Damerini’s tone may be better than the engineering makes it out to be, but it acquires a tacky, plastic finish at loud moments. In a market crowded with distinguished Schubert sonata offerings, this disc is doomed to be a hard sell.
