# Schubert: Drei Klavierstücke D 946



## Zamoth

Edited posthumously in 1868 by Johannes Brahms, the "Three late piano pieces" D 946 were composed by Franz Schubert in 1828 - 6 months before his death - during the same period as other masterpieces such as the Mass in E flat major (D 950), the Symphony in C Major (the Great, D 944) and of course Schubert's artistic testament: the last three piano sonatas (D 958-960).

However, in addition of a modest title, those "Three late piano pieces" do not seem to be given the same favours than the aforementioned late Schubert's pieces. I find it hard to find interprets playing them regularly, either the three of them or individually. Maybe because they have to be considered as an unfinished cycle of impromptus, thus condemned to remain in the complete ones' shadow? 

I find each of them musically as interesting as other impromptus, and at least as colourful. I am currently working on the 2nd piece Allegretto in E flat major: a Sturm und Drang concentrate, beautiful modulations...

What is your opinion about this cycle of pieces? Anyone has ever worked on them? 

Zamoth


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## DiesIraeCX

I love D. 946, I find myself returning to them often, especially #1 in E Minor. I love the playful way it begins and its consequent shifts in mood. I like Brendel and Pollini in the Klavierstücke and Impromptus (and sonatas, for the matter, along with Perahia). I view them as impromptus, alongside D. 935 and D. 899.


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## Mandryka

For me the second one is a favourite.

Were they really intended to be part of a larger collection? Are they really cyclical? Why did he call them stüke rather than impromptus? 

Over the past few years we've had a lot of really fabulous performances of these pieces on modern pianos, I'm thinking of Wirssaladze, Sokolov, Ranki, Kocsis. And old fashioned pianists were not unimaginative with them either: the live Kempff on BBC legends is memorable as is Richter on Melodyia (better there than in Hungary), and Arrau (best on EMI I think) Shame that Sofronitsky and Yudina didn't play them.

I've never heard them on an authentic piano, I'm not sure if anyone's recorded them, that will be revealing I think.


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## Zamoth

Thanks Mandryka for your suggestions! I was using Brendel and Pollini versions as a reference until now. Sokolov indeed does a great job with the pieces, he has the right tempo in my opinion. I have just listened to extracts on Youtube. Thanks for suggesting Arrau too, I forgot his Schubert recording for EMI, and that is another great interpretation.


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## chesapeake bay

Mandryka said:


> I've never heard them on an authentic piano, I'm not sure if anyone's recorded them, that will be revealing I think.


Paul Badura-Skoda has recorded them on a Graf Forte piano c 1826 and I think Melvyn Tan has recorded them on a period instrument as well.


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## Mandryka

And Staier, Badura Skoda is interesting I think






I really think that performances like this show that people who play modern pianos should keep their mitts off Schubert.


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## chesapeake bay

I agree, I was surprised by how different this sounds on a period instrument and after listening a few times I'm not sure I care to listen to this on a modern piano anymore.


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## Josquin13

For me, this is quintessential late Schubert. But then, virtually every piece of music that Schubert wrote in the D.900s is a masterwork, and Drei Klavierstücke D. 946 is no exception.

On period piano, in addition to Paul Badura-Skoda's superb Genuin recording, which Mandryka mentions, there's also a D. 946 from forte pianist Jan Vermeulen on the Etcetera label. Vermeulen plays an original Nannette Streicher (Stein) and Sohn fortepiano from 1826, of which there are only about a dozen known to exist in the world, with the majority being locked away in museums & not playable (so it's rare to hear Schubert played on one). Vermeulen's piano was discovered collecting dust in one of the attics at the castle Vilain Xllll in the village of Leut, in Massmechelen, Limburg & restored under Vermeulen's supervision. The difference in the high treble range to other Viennese pianos of the day is noticeable, with the Streicher sounding less squarish & dry. Which is likely why Streichers were so popular with composers of Beethoven & Schubert's day. I find Vermeulen's Schubert playing to be more passionate & impulsive than Badura-Skoda's, & possibly more expressive, but I don't like his D 946 quite as much, as Badura-Skoda's interpretation is more interesting to me. However, both performances are well worth hearing, & Vermeulen's particularly for his rare Steicher/Sohn piano:






On a modern piano, D. 946 is a specialty of Alfred Brendel's. I heard him play them in concert in the late 1980s at Carnegie Hall, and the music made a strong impression on me, one that I've never forgotten (as I couldn't get the music out of my head for days after the concert). In the same way that I associate Schumann's Kreisleriana with Horowitz, I also associate Schubert's D. 946 with Brendel--& I admit partly because of that concert.

This is one instance where I'd be hesitant to claim that Brendel's 1972 recording for Philips is superior to his later 1987 digital remake. Both recordings are wonderful, and the 1987 D. 946 may have an even greater depth of understanding. For me, it was one of the highlights of Brendel's 2nd digital Schubert survey for Philips. Personally, I'd rather listen to either of Brendel's D. 946 recordings than Badura-Skoda or Vermeulen--as he finds more variety & subtlety and makes more sense of the score, interpretatively, in my view. Although I do agree that too many modern pianists turn D 946 into a bigger, louder, more outsized showy work than Schubert obviously intended, once you've heard it played on a period piano. But I don't see Brendel as guilty of that.

Brendel 1972:




Brendel filmed in D. 946: 




Brendel 1987:





Another interpretation that interests me is Mario Joao Pires' DG recording. Her view of the music is very different from Brendel's, as she finds sadder, more tragic, unsettling elements in the score, and isn't afraid to emphasize them or bring them to the forefront. It's always nice to have two such different interpretations of music of this extraordinary quality.


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