Alain Planès’ Schubert cycle has offered little to get excited about, and the present release is no exception. Aside from a sensitively-spun slow movement, Planès’ foursquare, matter-of-fact playing seems removed from the F minor sonata’s quirky phraseology and off-the-wall modulations. The Finale’s fiery unison octaves start promisingly, but the movement loses steam as it progresses, in contrast to Sviatoslav Richter’s more dynamic, suppler treatment (although Planès makes the most of the movement’s haunting trills). The C major sonata’s stark textures lack the foreboding resonance and sense of line that distinguish superior versions from Mitsuko Uchida and Alfred Brendel.
A straightforward yet workaday Wanderer Fantasy bridges the sonatas. Its relative lack of nuance and cumulative drama makes it a non-starter compared to Leon Fleisher’s quivering energy, Perahia’s taut organization, and Richter’s, well, everything! And the all-but-unknown yet highly talented Jérôme Ducros recorded an extraordinary Wanderer Fantasy for the tiny Ligia label that may well be my modern-day favorite. In other words, the recorded competition speaks for itself.
