The Schubert Cycle: Journey’s End

Pianist Paul Lewis, in the first of the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Great Performers series, was given a standing ovation after his concert. If it seems odd to begin a review with an ending, consider that the program represented the completion of the pianist’s two-year involvement with the works of Franz Schubert. Further, audiences have flocked to each of Lewis’s concerts at the Centre and the applause was as much for the complete Schubert Cycle as for this concert. As expected, the performance on this occasion did not disappoint. The first of three sonatas on the program, No.19 in C minor D.958, began with an Allegro that established the pianist’s technical prowess, from the strong opening chords through busy chromatic scales to a dramatic development of the theme. Yet it no time Lewis demonstrated Schubert’s ability to touch the heart with melody encased in the most arresting technical passages. This is in part because of the pianist’s confident and seemingly relaxed style, which allowed the listener to concentrate on the music. The second movement certainly called for calm, as slow harmonic chords gave way to a complex piece of music in which the left and right hands appeared at times to be playing entirely different pieces. That they nevertheless seemed complementary was thanks to the pianist, whose delicate touch made the closing restrained passages particularly captivating. The next, ‘minuet and trio’ sounded like a dance, but not a stately minuet. The program notes (by David Garrett) suggested a scherzo, which was closer to the mark – although I wondered why Schubert hadn’t simply gone with ‘Allegro’. This was the only marking for the final movement, which felt as if it was about to become a wild gallop, but instead recalled Beethoven in its power and scope. A huge challenge for the pianist, it was met with style and grace. This could be said of the whole performance, with the second work, Piano Sonata No.20 in A, D959 followed (after interval) by the better-known No.21 in B flat, D960. All three sonatas revealed Schubert as a composer of great complexity and worth, whose vision deserved interpretation by a pianist of Paul Lewis’s calibre. In doing Schubert justice, Lewis has also given audiences many hours of wonderful music and encouraged a fresh vision of this composer’s contribution to the piano repertoire. Hence the standing ovation. Rating: 5 stars out of 5   The Schubert Cycle: Journey’s End Paul Lewis, piano   SCHUBERT Piano Sonata No.19 in C minor, D958 SCHUBERT Piano Sonata No.20 in A, D959 SCHUBERT Piano Sonata No.21 in B-flat, D960   Melbourne Recital Centre 13 February