John Damgaard plays Schubert Sonatas and Piano Works

Review: Gramophone (July 2025) Franz Schubert CD 1 Sonata in A minor, D537 (1817) 1. Allegro, ma non troppo 2. Allegretto quasi andantino 3. Allegro vivace Sonata in E-flat major, D568 (1817) 4. Allegro moderato 5. Andante 6. Menuetto. Allegretto 7. Allegro moderato Sonata in A minor, D845 (1825) 8. Moderato 9. Andante, poco mosso 10. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 11. Rondo. Allegro vivace CD 2 Sonata in B major, D575 (1817) 1. Allegro, ma non troppo 2. Andante molto 3. Scherzo. Allegretto 4. Allegro giusto Sonata in D major, D850 (1825) 5. Allegro vivace 6. Con moto 7. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 8. Rondo. Allegro moderato CD 3 Sonata in G major, D894 (1826) 1. Molto moderato e cantabile 2. Andante 3. Menuetto. Allegro moderato 4. Allegretto Sonata in A major, D664 (1821) 5. Allegro moderato 6. Andante 7. Allegro Sonata in C minor, D958 (1828) 8. Allegro 9. Adagio 10. Menuetto. Allegro 11. Allegro CD 4 Sonata in A major, D959 (1828) 1. Allegro 2. Andantino 3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace 4. Rondo. Allegretto Sonata in B-flat major, D960 (1828) 5. Molto moderato 6. Andante sostenuto 7. Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza 8. Allegro, ma non troppo CD 5 4 Impromptus D899 (1827) 1. I. C minor – Allegro molto moderato 2. II. E-flat major – Allegro 3. III. G-flat major – Andante 4. IV. A-flat major – Allegretto 4 Impromptus D935 (1827) 5. I. F minor – Allegro moderato 6. II. A-flat major – Allegretto 7. III. B-flat major – Andante 8. IV. F minor – Allegro scherzando Drei Klavierstücke D946 (1828) 9. I. E-flat minor – Allegro assai CD 6 Drei Klavierstücke D946 (1828) 1. II. E-flat major – Allegretto 2. III. C major – Allegro Sonata in E minor, D566 (1817) 3. Moderato 4. Allegretto Sonata in C major ”Relique”, D840 (1825) 5. Moderato 6. Andante Sonata in F minor, D625 (1818) 7. Allegro 8. Scherzo. Allegretto 9. Allegro Schubert’s piano sonatas © Schubert’s Lieder, his more than 600 songs with piano, constitute a brilliant chapter in the world of classical music, and for a long time his symphonies and chamber music have taken their rightful place in the concert repertoire. How then can one explain that relatively few of his piano sonatas are known to the large music public? And this despite the efforts of our century’s greatest pianists to convince us of the sonatas’ great musical qualities – from Artur Schnabel to Wilhelm Kempff (John Damgaard’s teacher), to Alfred Brendel and András Schiff, to name some of the best known artists. In seeking a reason, one does not have to dig too deeply before meeting the first and greatest name, Ludwig van Beethoven, undisputed master of the classical piano sonata. In no other genre did Schubert come so close to Beethoven as in the piano sonata. When the A minor sonata D845 was published in 1826, the connection was clearly sensed by an admiring reviewer, who wrote that the sonata “within the defined framework moves so freely and unusually, so boldly and now and then strangely, that it could really be called, not without justification, a fantasy. In this last respect it could be compared with the greatest and freest of Beethoven’s sonatas”. It is obvious enough that Beethoven’s piano sonatas were a source of inspiration for Schubert; had they not been would be almost inexplicable. But it is equally clear that the young Schubert tried to free himself from the big models in order to go his own way. When one looks at the works he wrote in that field, it quickly becomes clear that it was not the easiest route to take. John Damgaard’s recording comprises all Schubert’s completed sonatas, eleven in all. But there are just as many sonatas that were left unfinished, for one reason or another. And these incomplete works contain a wealth of musical jewels that are a delight to hear, yet another example of the composer’s abundant ability to write a tune. Which other composer could have afforded to let such an overwhelming amount of material lie unused? Having written a series of Mozart-inspired piano fantasies as a 13–14-year-old, the 18- year-old Schubert began to write his first piano sonata (D157 in E major) in February 1815. But something went wrong in the first movement; a week later he revised it considerably and wrote two more movements, but apparently never started the finale. He got going again in September 1815. This was to be Sonata I, he wrote on the manuscript; but again a last movement is missing. When today we allow ourselves to say that a movement is missing, it is not only because it is uncommon to end with a minuet movement, as these two sonatas do, but more because both works end in a different key from that of the first movement, something that never happens in any of Schubert’s complete sonatas. RELEASE DATE: MARCH 2025 CATALOGUE NUMBER: DACOCD 575-580 EAN: 5709499575802 Download BOOKLET (PDF) Related