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07/31/2025
Franz Schubert: Piano Sonata in A major, D959 – Moments musicaux, D780, opus 94
Steven Osborne (piano)
Recording: St. Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, England (December 6‑8, 2023) – 67’58
Hyperion CDA 68437 (Distributed by Universal Music) – Booklet in English, French and German
The Scottish pianist Steven Osborne has a unique way of employing impeccable technique to generate unsurpassable expression of deep feeling. This is extraordinarily evident in his new album centered on one of the most difficult sonatas in the classical repertoire, the Piano Sonata in A major.
I say “difficult” not because the work makes particularly challenging demands on the artist. It actually does not. Any skilled pianist can play these notes, but who except for a handful, if that, can wield technique to tell the tale of angst and perplexity that unfolds in this tragic masterpiece. It is evident beyond doubt that this artist feels the composer’s pain that is folded into every measure. This aura of authenticity touches every aspect of this performance, resulting in a sound that rings with truth and in which no guile is hidden.
The Piano Sonata in A major is the middle work of a group of three sonatas composed shortly before the composer’s death at age 31. At this time, his health was in steep decline, and we can only imagine the composer’s concern for works composed and yet to be written, as well as the ordinary fear of suffering and annihilation. Despite a caring circle of friends, the composer was utterly alone, a condition this delicately structured work makes ever so clear.
Osborne opens new doors to understanding the Sonata for those willing to take the time to resonate with its dark beauty. Under Osborne’s touch, the four movements have a wistful cast, the first filled with brilliant passages that refuse to resolve as expected. The second is mysterious and strange, limping along with the pace of the hurdy‑gurdy man from Schubert’s song cycle, Die Winterreise. After a bright scherzo, Osborne draws out a new emotion from the concluding “Rondo”, a sense of lingering uncertainty and no little angst. The brightest sparks of hope briefly dawdle in the upper register, then slip into patches of silence and measures for which there is no compass.
On a lighter note, the album also contains Schubert’s six Moments musicaux, short pieces which Osborne presents as individual gems, each buffed and polished as a vividly memorable cameo. Yet even here, in the fifth musical moment, a cryptic undercurrent sweeps us into an unknown land of dreams and regret.
Steven Osborne captures Schubert in brilliance and pain.
Linda Holt
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