Michael Endres - Schubert: Wanderer-Fantasie & Other Works for Solo Piano '2016

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Fantasy in C Major, D. 605a Grazer: Moderato con espressione
02. Fantasy in C Major, D. 605a Grazer: Alla polacca
03. Fantasy in C Major, D. 605a Grazer: Tempo I
04. 3 Klavierstücke, D. 946: No. 1, Allegro assai
05. 3 Klavierstücke, D. 946: No. 2, Allegretto
06. 3 Klavierstücke, D. 946: No. 3, Allegro
07. 13 Variations on a Theme of Hüttenbrenner, D. 576
08. Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760 Wandererfantasie: I. Allegro con fuoco ma
non troppo
09. Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760 Wandererfantasie: II. Adagio
10. Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760 Wandererfantasie: III. Presto
11. Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15, D. 760 Wandererfantasie: IV. Allegro



This recording of Schuberts Wanderer Fantasie, D. 760, is hardly at risk of
getting lost among all the other ones on the market; its completely distinctive.
Endres reading is almost devoid of the Viennese warmth and rhythmic momentum
that are the norm for Schubert, but in their place are details that are heard in
wholly new ways. Look no further than the opening the Wanderer Fantasie itself,
muscular yet subtle, for an example. Everywhere, Endres chooses to destabilize
rhythms in order to tease out details of voice-leading, and even the relatively
simple triple meter of the second of the impromptu-like Three Piano Pieces, D.
946, is done in such a way that the music seems to float, not drive forward.
These late works are less often performed than are the two full sets of Schubert
impromptus, but Endres makes a good case for them as ambitious, motivically
complex pieces. Even less familiar are the 13 Variations on a Theme by
Hüttenbrenner, D. 576, from 1815, which have a theme so simple that it seems
analogous to a few straight lines sketched on a page; Endres catches the way the
young Schuberts slightly scary imagination immediately takes over. Also
comparatively rare is the so-called Grazer Fantasie, the Fantasie in C major, D.
605a; its a true quasi-improvisatory piece, Schuberts version of the potpourris
and display pieces performed by the touring virtuosi who passed through Vienna.
The alla polacca middle section (track 2) does not come out particularly
polonaise-like in Endres account, and in general listeners with a low tolerance
for intellectual German approaches may be rubbed the wrong way by his playing.
Take it for what it is, however, and the music has the uncanny quality of
seeming quite different when heard multiple times. The engineering from the
Oehms label is up to its usual high standard.

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