Fortepiano adds a new sweetness to Schubert

Andreas Staier is a Schubert man par excellence with numerous CDs to prove it, from song-cycle ventures with German tenor Christoph Pregardien to various recordings of the composer's solo sonatas.

What gives Staier's discs their individuality is his use of a fortepiano, a replica of an 1827 Graf instrument - just what the G major Sonata and Four Impromptus on his latest Harmonia Mundi release would have been composed for.

This early 19th century soundworld will be an acquired taste for some and I certainly wouldn't want to relinquish the sumptuous ambience that a concert Steinway can bring to the first movement of the G major Sonata D 894.

Yet, Schubert's Andante sings with a new sweetness on the fortepiano, while the Minuet, thanks to Staier's crisp technique and a broader dynamic range, has an appealing rusticity, its trio chiming delicately through the use of the instrument's una corda pedal.
While this Sonata is less well-known than some of its companions, Schubert's second set of Impromptus of Op 142 is standard repertoire.

An almost impressionistic haze of reverberation floats over the A flat piece, while the final F minor jaunt in Hungarian style is as infectious as any of the dances Schubert must have dashed off in his own parlour for the delight of dancing friends.

Marc-Andre Hamelin uses a modern Steinway for his second volume of Haydn Sonatas, casually reminding us that these need not blush alongside similar works by Mozart and Beethoven.

This Canadian can make an innocent E major Allegretto positively pulsate with dark premonitions, while an E minor Presto slips around beguilingly before a rollercoaster comes along to whisk it off.

An E flat Allegro is gruff in its good humour, bordering on the bucolic, while a perfectly poised G major Adagio makes just the right Beethoven connection.

Also included are the F minor Variations, fetchingly titled "Un piccolo divertimento" - an understatement considering the drama that Hamelin injects into their closing pages. Perfectly captured in London's Henry Wood Hall, with just the right amount of space around the piano, this set makes one impatient for the third volume of the series.