Alma Deutscher: My Schubert Top Five
Composer, violinist and pianist Alma Deutscher presents a personal selection of her favourite Schubert recordings in an exclusive IDAGIO playlist.
Read more…“Der Hirt auf dem Felsen” – Elly Ameling, Jörg Demus, Hans Deinzer
This is one of the very first Schubert songs that I ever heard, and it has remained one of my absolute favourites. When I was five and six, I often played it as a trio with my parents: my mother on the piano, my father played the clarinet part on the flute, and I played the soprano part on the violin. Elly Ameling’s voice in this early recording is so incredibly pure and effortless, soaring like a lark. I have never heard it sung so beautifully.
Symphony No. 4 in C minor “Tragic” • IV. Allegro – Lorin Maazel, Berliner Philharmoniker
This is another very early favourite. I remember hearing this Schubert symphony for the first time when I was six, and I was transfixed by the fourth movement, because of its tension and drama. Nowhere is this drama more dramatic than in this recording with Lorin Maazel and the Berlin Philharmonic, with its breath-taking tempo.
Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major • II. Andante un poco mosso – Arthur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz, Emanuel Feuermann
I discovered this Schubert trio a little bit later, because I played it in a concert in Oxford when I was eleven - but not as beautifully as Heifetz. I especially love Heifetz’s amazing shifts. Today it’s no longer considered in good taste to play with so many shifts – what a pity…
Arpeggione Sonata in A minor • I. Allegro moderato – Mstislav Rostropovich, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten is not usually one of my top favourite composers. But I chose this recording of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata because of his breath-taking musicality. Although the piano is just the accompaniment most of the time, when he does play the tune, Britten’s phrasing is astonishingly beautiful. Rostropovich doesn’t imitate Britten’s interpretation. He plays in his own way and with his amazing sound. But nevertheless the two form a harmonious duet.
Fantasy for Piano four hands in F minor – Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu
I heard the fantasy in F minor only last year, when I was thirteen. But I immediately fell deeply in love with its beautiful melodies and harmonies. I especially love the bit where after all the F minor darkness, suddenly the sun comes out with the melody in F major. Perahia and Lupu play the fantasy in an ethereal way, like angels dancing.