Schubert

I have always liked Schubert (who doesn't?), but for some reason I have found myself obsessed with Schubert lately, especially since I have been listening to this live concert recording made from performances in 1958 through 1969 of Sviatoslav Richter playing some of his piano sonatas and his "Huttenbrenner Variations." For me, listening to these performances, particularly the C minor (D. 958) and the B-flat major (D 960) Sonatas is like taking a vacation: it is highly-valued time spent away from normal reality and responsibility. Sometimes listening to them puts me into an altered state, where all that matters is the musical landscape, and every twist and turn of natural wonder comes as a kind of surprise. Sometimes listening to them is like a musical therapy session that allows emotional issues that may have been buried for a long time to come to the surface of my consciousness. At any rate, while they last, and as long and as satisfying as they may be, these pieces of Schubert that are brought to life by Richter always end too soon. Tags: Schubert, Richter, classical music, recordings