# Franz Schubert – Fantasie in F Minor



## Vitaliyka (Sep 28, 2016)

http://myfavoriteclassical.com/franz-schubert-fantasie-f-minor/


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Schubert's Fantasie is one of my favorite works for piano by any composer. Although I'm not a big fan of Perahia or Lupu, it's their Sony recording that's at the top of my list.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Vitaliyka said:


> http://myfavoriteclassical.com/franz-schubert-fantasie-f-minor/


Beautiful music, never get tired of it.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Bulldog said:


> Schubert's Fantasie is one of my favorite works for piano by any composer. Although I'm not a big fan of Perahia or Lupu, it's their Sony recording that's at the top of my list.


I'm not a big fan of Perahia/Lupu in that particular piece - they are too restrained. Top of my list is:






I'm a big fan of Perahia elsewhere (Mozart, Bach, maybe Beethoven...), I have my doubts about him in later Romantic pieces, like this. Kissin brings so much more passion & energy to this particular party. I'm not sure about Lupu (maybe after another run through his box set...)


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## Genoveva (Nov 9, 2010)

I have a small collection of Schubert's excellent Fantasy for Piano 4 hands, D 940. The ones I have are: Pires/Castro, Kissin/Levine, Perahia/Lupu, Katia & Mariella Labeque, Fleischer/Jacobson, Fray/Rouvier.

Having just played through them all to get a comparison, I would say that the Katia & Mariella Labeque version is a bit on the slow side. The Perahia/Lupu is limp compared with the others. Pires/Castro is similar to Kissin/Levine, pretty good but not outstanding. The two best in my view are Fleischer/Jacobson, and Fray/Rouvier. I'd probably go with the last if I had to choose one.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Mal said:


> I'm not a big fan of Perahia/Lupu in that particular piece - they are too restrained. Top of my list is:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can't say much for the Kissin/Levine performance. It's way too orchestral/public oriented for my tastes. Also, one too many pianos.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Fray/Rouvier:

https://play.spotify.com/album/48SDGapeWkyH0qfdJg2tO1

This would get a "pretty good but not outstanding" vote from me, and I'll stick with Kissin/Levine as my benchmark. To me, it seems to have slightly more dynamism & forward momentum. Close call, though. I feel a poll coming on


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Not a great Schubert fan but the best I've ever heard was by the Duo Tal & Groethuysen, who incidentally have recorded Schubert's complete 4 hand piano music quite masterfully.


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Bulldog said:


> Can't say much for the Kissin/Levine performance. It's way too orchestral/public oriented for my tastes. Also, one too many pianos.


Schubert at this period was very concerned with orchestral writing, but did not have easy access to an orchestra. The booklet suggests that four hands gave him the possibility of writing a piece approaching an orchestral scale, and actually hearing it. So the (admittedly) orchestral approach here doesn't seem too out of place. Also wasn't Schubert writing to be heard by the public? The work seems too big to be consigned to the drawing room. But I suppose a work of this genius can be interpreted in many different ways. I'll work on trying to appreciate the more intimate performances! (Though, I do love the orchestral barnstorming by Kissin... and orchestral pieces are of greatest interest to me in general...)


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Most of my listening time is of solo keyboard and chamber music. When I do want to hear orchestral music, my preference is a real orchestra (not a couple of pianos).


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## Dirge (Apr 10, 2012)

Franz SCHUBERT: Fantasie in F minor, D. 940 (1828)
:: Louis Lortie & Hélène Mercier [Chandos '92]

The playing here is notable for its beautifully articulated flow and continuity and seamless integrity, generating a compelling sense of unity and forward motion throughout, even through the fugue. Indeed, the playing might be accused of being too much of those things, as there's a sense that the performance is a bit too efficiently homogenized, that localized/short-term characterization has been too thoroughly assimilated and subsumed into the whole for the sake of flow, continuity, and integrity. Everything is well characterized within that context, however, presented in a way that is firm and strong (without banging) yet refined and beautifully balanced (without fussiness).

Phrasing is elegant throughout, and the opening theme is most beautifully stated: Lupu/Perahia [CBS/Sony '84] is more reluctant/hesitant and haunted in effect, but Lortie/Mercier has a certain grace and nobility that's no less beautiful in its way. The flow and continuity (and focus and concentration) of the playing allows tension to be maintained uncommonly well over the long haul, and much suspense is generated while approaching climaxes, which are built and delivered with savvy dramatic sense. The continuity also makes the work's sudden pauses all the more effective, and the pauses are perfectly timed and judged. Taking a decidedly different tack, the adventurous and audacious Eschenbach/Frantz [EMI '78] (the ghost-pummeling alter-ego of the gently haunted Lupu/Perahia, what with its strong projection and bold contrasts and articulation) might be accused of being more abrupt/startling/dynamic than suspenseful, more melodramatic than truly dramatic; nevertheless, it's a vividly compelling performance that will immediately grab the attention of even the most casual of listeners, whereas Lortie/Mercier requires a more patient and dedicated listener. Lupu/Perahia is more deliberate and less purposeful than Lortie/Mercier, which more deliberate and less purposeful listeners will no doubt prefer, but it's hurting for firmness and resolve when tackling the more heated music.

Lortie & Mercier, more than any other duo I've heard in this work, sound like one pianist with four hands, such is the coordination and single-mindedness of their playing (and the nice balance & blend of the Chandos recording). Lupu & Perahia, on the other hand, have a more chamber music-like give-and-take relationship, with the performance seeming to emerge out of the agreeable interaction of two distinct but complementary players as it goes. Eschenbach & Frantz, on the third hand, have more of a manly challenge-and-reply thing going on that feeds into the bold spontaneity of their playing.

On the whole, I favor Lortie/Mercier over Lupu/Perahia and Eschenbach/Frantz, though I like all three in their very different ways. None of the other recordings that I've listened to over the years have struck a chord with me.





 (Lortie & Mercier)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Bulldog said:


> Can't say much for the Kissin/Levine performance. It's way too orchestral/public oriented for my tastes. Also, one too many pianos.


My thoughts exactly.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

Compared several to refresh my memory, so far Perahia/Lupu is the best for me.Lortie/Mercier is way too sentimental for my taste, well, I just didn't like it. Nobody mentioned here duo Gilels ( the one with his daughter) is a nice one, one a lighter side, very fresh, but in fortissimo moments is too much power, a bit too fff for this piece


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## Mal (Jan 1, 2016)

Bulldog said:


> Most of my listening time is of solo keyboard and chamber music. When I do want to hear orchestral music, my preference is a real orchestra (not a couple of pianos).


But I want to hear more great orchestral music by Schubert, and I'm happy with this attempt to be "orchestral" with two pianos.

But it's more than that, just listen to Kissin in the opening! He also has much elegance.

Gramophone, although making the Kissin/Levine disk its choice for two handed Schubert, does suggest Kissin has a sometimes "over-insistent tone... playing to the back of the hall". They may have a point, but I find this exciting - it keeps if off my "lighter moments" playlist, but on my "symphonic barnstormer" playlist .

Gramophone also pick out Eschenbach/Frantz for more elan than rivals in the Fantasie, so here they are:






That does have more elan than Perahia/Lupu, but not as much as Kissin/Levine, although they are more over-insistent than Kissin(!) So plenty of passion, but they lack elegance; Kissin plays that wonderful opening with more beauty and passion than anyone.


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## Gradeaundera (Jun 30, 2016)

Not bad if I do say so


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Gradeaundera said:


> Not bad if I do say so


I am not sure about this, the music you mean?


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