~Author: Scoresby
Friday May 11 2018 – In a late night recital (9:00pm) that marked the last of pianist Shai Wosner’s three part series of Schubert’s Final Sonatas at the 92nd Street Y, Mr. Wosner presented two of Schubert late piano sonatas without intermission. The performance took place in Buttenweiser Hall, the upstairs venue of the 92nd Street Y that seems to be more consistently used for smaller and intimate programs in recent years under the banner Soundspace. Next season’s subscription series for Soundspace looks genuinely like one of the most exciting series in New York – featuring both younger artists and more contemporary music than has traditionally been the 92nd Street Y’s calling card.
Above: Pianist Shai Wosner; Photo Credit: Jamie Jung - Mr. Wosner has more than a passing resemblance to Schubert (below)
Schubert’s last sonatas are tricky pieces of music to perform. Sonata in G major, D. 894 was composed in 1826 and the Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960 was completed just two months before Schubert’s death (it was his last purely instrumental work). Many see the latter as a deathly work, like a premonition of his own death – while the G major sonata is one of Schubert’s most graceful pieces of music (well programmed to have the two together). Because of this mythos, there is a tendency for pianists to exaggerate performances of these late sonatas to make them ‘profound’ by using devices such as extremely slow tempi and legato. Those performances though tend to miss the range of humor, levity, happiness, and lyricism in the music. After all, while superstitious, Schubert did not know he was going to die. Luckily, Mr. Wosner’s performance was a break from this tradition – instead he gave beautifully rendered straightforward accounts. It was wonderful hearing this nearly symphonic works in such an intimate space – really how Schubert’s music would have been presented in his own time.
In the first and less played of these two sonatas, Mr. Wosner’s playing exemplified the more joyous elements of these sonatas while making Schubert’s link to Beethoven explicit. His tempi were on the quicker side for the first movement (on a whole as well, but most noticeable here) and his touch was light for the opening chords. As the movement continued to expand, Mr. Wosner focused his attention on the middle voices of the piano, letting Schubert’s harmonic structure become clear and letting the unresolved tones really resonate. This let the music questioning qualities come through and added to the mystery of the music. In the contrasting, almost lieder-like theme, Mr. Wosner’s rolling left hand and quiet magical chords in the right hand let the music sing.
As the sonata gained more intensity after each repeat, Mr. Wosner seemed to really let the fortissimos ring – never excessively but with a sense of drama that seemed straight out of Beethoven. In the Andante, Mr. Wosner’s playing was even crisper and lighter – almost as if he were playing a fortepiano from Schubert’s day. The contrasting stormy themes had a brittle chords. During the restatement of the opening, Mr. Wosner seemed to get more playful with the music, almost child-like. It was easy to see why Schumann enjoyed this sonata. Mr. Wosner seemed to relish the folksy dance of the last movement – again his feathery playing letting the music move forward and seem unpretentious. The audience was thrilled.
From the Archive: Franz Schubert; water color of Wilhelm August Rieder
Mr. Wosner after a brief clapping break went straight into the Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960. While time wise these two pieces work fine without an intermission, it was apparent that audience seemed to take a while before settling into the music after the tremendous concentration needed for the previous work. Mr. Wosner took a similarly brisk approach to this piece, every time the trill that interrupts the opening theme appeared he left plenty space before and after. Letting each trill transport the listener into a new sound space as the movement unfolded, Mr. Wosner created drama around these serene moments. In the second movement, his drama emphasizing the small accidentals and bell-like chimes seemed like a continuation of the trills from the first movement. During the scherzo, Mr. Wosner light touch shaped the charming music into a fantastical world.
The silences, spaces, and transitional accents were again emphasized the closing movement, making Schubert’s brilliant changes from one section to next apparent. It is refreshing to hear a performance so dedicated the score – many interpreters try to distort Schubert’s music into something else entirely. Instead Mr. Wosner pulled me into Schubert’s world, which is both much more ethereal and human. A place where the listener can drift.