Schubert – Sonatas D784; D894
Young-Ah Tak
Steinway & Sons 30235 (steinway.com/music-and-artists/label/schubert-sonatas-young-ah-tak)
Recorded on a fine-sounding Steinway grand in New York City’s Steinway Hall in 2023, pianist Young-Ah Tak presents bold, full-blooded readings of two of Schubert’s better-known piano sonatas. The opening of the Sonata in A Minor, D784 immediately gives us a sense of Tak’s general approach. The main theme is more impulsive than usual, featuring a forward momentum that carries over into the lyrical second theme, here pushing ahead in contrast to its more typical presentation as an oasis of calm. Tak prioritizes drama throughout, emphasizing dynamic contrasts and not afraid to employ liberal rubato. This is Schubert the Romantic rather than Schubert the Classicist, making use of the full resources of the modern Steinway.
Some listeners may miss the peace and serenity that others find in the large first movement of the Sonata in G Major, D894; as with the A minor sonata, Tak does not take the repeat of the first movement’s exposition. The early turn to the minor mode (0:49) already presses anxiously ahead. The sonatas’ slow movements, both marked Andante, are generously and sensitively phrased and taken at a rather brisk pace. While the finale of the A minor work seems more monumental than usual, particularly in the thick chordal writing where Tak again prioritizes stormy drama over any reminiscence of the dance, the finale of the G major sonata shows a lighter touch that allows for some grace and humour to conclude the album on a more smiling note.
