Sonata Op.57/la Ricordanza Op.33/sonata D958

Splendid Recital Jin Ju recorded a classical bestseller in China, and her Schumann debut CD on MDG shows why: such a clear, unpretentious virtuoso has only rarely been heard, one whose enormous musical intuition enables her to convey and interpret even the most hidden musical messages. A recital now follows in which Jin Ju displays an even broader spectrum of expressive means. Beethoven’s Appassionata demands the greatest virtuosity and musical stringency, Czerny’s Ricordanza Variations are not stingy with sophisticatedly placed, sparkling figuration, and Schubert’s Sonata in C minor lavishes in a writing style relying very much on cantability. The fact that these works were written during the space of twenty years and thus practically at the same time enhances the appeal of this recording. Romantic Solo Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor op. 57 numbers among the composer’s best-known works and is regarded as the epitome of romantic solo virtuosity. Its virtuosity is never ostentatiously taken to the extreme but employed rigorously and systematically as a means of expression, of passion. No wonder that this work so incredibly charged with energy later earned the name of the Appassionata. Sonata Glory What a very different work was created only a few years later in Schubert’s Sonata in C minor from 1828, the year of his death! Although a few themes continue to recall Beethoven, Schubert completely frees himself from traditional forms, and the music seems also to lose itself in improvisational suggestions and states of suspension – as a result, the passages never seeming to want to end and glorified by Schumann as “heavenly longueurs” can be experienced directly. Stunning Virtuosity Those who associate the name of Czerny solely with the exertions involved in the practice of finger exercises in piano instruction should absolutely take the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the works of this brilliant pianist. Alone the sophistication with which Czerny has the fifth variation go over into a virtuoso cadential passage and then into a furious presto is stunning. When this is done with witty nonchalance and so brilliantly as here in colossal 2+2+2-Steinway-Multichannel-Sound the wish to press the repeat button becomes an automatic reflex.