<<  -- 3 --  Robert Anderson    SCHNABEL AND RICHTER

It is easy to see why Schubert's 'Wanderer' Fantasy so appealed to Liszt that he dressed it up with orchestral accompaniment and made of it a virtual concerto. Schubert's keyboard technique couldn't cope with the original, but what a towering masterpiece he made of it. It is no coincidence that the Fantasy was written in November 1822, the year Beethoven's final sonatas were published. Schubert begins with a rhythm he had made very much his own [listen -- 5 62960 2 track 1, 0:00-1:24]; Richter maintains the pulse with rocklike consistency. And of course Schubert had to pound at a fugue for finale. If that was Beethoven's way, it must be his [listen -- 5 62960 2 track 4, 0:00-1:22].

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