Schubert: Late Piano Works, Vol. 3 (Andrea Lucchesini plays Schubert's Piano Sonatas Nos. 18 & 19) Andrea Lucchesini

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894 'Fantasia':
• 1 Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894 'Fantasia': I. Molto moderato e Cantabile 17:57
• 2 Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894 'Fantasia': II. Andante 08:21
• 3 Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894 'Fantasia': III. Menuetto. Allegro Moderato 04:45
• 4 Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894 'Fantasia': IV. Allegretto 09:08
• Piano Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958:
• 5 Piano Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: I. Allegro 11:40
• 6 Piano Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: II. Adagio 08:42
• 7 Piano Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: III. Menuetto. Allegro 03:19
• 8 Piano Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D. 958: IV. Allegro 10:00
• Total Runtime 01:13:52

Info for Schubert: Late Piano Works, Vol. 3 (Andrea Lucchesini plays Schubert's Piano Sonatas Nos. 18 & 19)

In the concluding volume of his three-part series of Franz Schubert’s late piano works, Andrea Lucchesini turns towards two highly diverse works: the Sonata in G major (D. 894) which gently dies out, and the dramatic Sonata in C minor (D. 958).

​Andrea Lucchesini is one of Italy's most prominent pianists who has established his reputation with a recording series of the complete Beethoven sonatas as well as of chamber music (including for audite). His latest project is dedicated to the late piano works of Franz Schubert - a multifaceted musical cosmos in which Schubert liberates himself from Beethoven's influence and pushes forward far into the modern age.

This is also true of the two works that Lucchesini now presents in the third and final volume of his highly acclaimed Schubert series. They could not be more different: whilst the G major Sonata, D. 894, opens with tender sounds which only gradually die out and seem improvisatory, the Sonata in C minor, D. 958, with its robust opening chords reminds us of Beethoven's pianistic style. Schubert had deliberately opted for this as his point of departure, from which he then developed his own concept for a contemporary sonata.

Andrea Lucchesini, born in Tuscany in 1965 and a student of the legendary Maria Tipo in Florence, magically does justice to both these contrasting works by immersing himself into the oscillations of one work and conjuring an urgent, dramatic force in the other.

Andrea Lucchesini, piano

Andrea Lucchesini
Born in 1965, Andrea Lucchesini studied piano with Maria Tipo and graduated in 1982. In 1983 he became the first Italian prize winner of the Dino Ciani International Piano Competition, which launched him on a brilliant international career. Since then he has performed with major orchestras under famous conductor, among which Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Roberto Abbado Riccardo Chailly, Dennis Russell Davies, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Daniel Harding and Giuseppe Sinopoli.

In 1994 a jury of international musicologists, having considered the results achieved so far in his career, awarded Lucchesini the prestigious Accademia Chigiana Prize and, in 1995, the Critics Prize F. Abbiati.

In July 2001 Andrea Lucchesini premièred the new Piano Sonata by Luciano Berio at the Zurich Festival, continuing the close relationship with the composer established when Andrea Lucchesini performed Berio’s Piano Concerto Echoing Curves all over the world, later recorded for BMG with the London Symphony Orchestra. Lucchesini’s interest for the XX century repertoire is demonstrated, besides his choice of programs, also by his registration of Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire and Berg Kammerkonzert with the Dresden Staatskapelle and Giuseppe Sinopoli for Teldec.

Deeply committed to chamber music as well, Andrea Lucchesini participates in the Lockenhaus and Moritzburg Chamber Music Festivals and from September 2005 he is the Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Festival in Florence.

In the season 2005-2006 we remind in particular the concerts with the London Philharmonic and Wladimir Yurowski, with the Galicia Orchestra and Carlo Rizzi, with Italian Radio National Orchestra and Yutaka Sado and with the BBC Orchestra in Manchester.

Booklet for Schubert: Late Piano Works, Vol. 3 (Andrea Lucchesini plays Schubert's Piano Sonatas Nos. 18 & 19)