Schubert – Lars Vogt

   in Piano International (Mar, 2017)
The first set of Schubert’s Impromptus and slightly earlier Moments musicaux make regular bedfellows on disc but rarely as beautifully played as by Lars Vogt here. If ever there was an instrumental advert for ‘Schubert and the essence of melody’, to re-use Hans Gál’s marvellous phrase, then this is it. Vogt’s rapt, mellifluous playing catches the essence of Schubert’s invention in an atmosphere of almost overwhelming calm, yet equally these performances reflect the drama and power in the individual pieces.

The Impromptus make an intriguing set, with its whole greater than the sum of its parts. At just over 28 minutes in this account, they are no mere miniatures or salon …