Javier Laso: Schubert & Schumann
Eudora

In their syllable-shared surnames, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) and Robert Schumann (1810-56) are forever tied, even if they never met in person. Thirteen years younger, the latter was still a teen when the former died from illness at thirty-one. A relationship did develop between them, however: when Schumann visited the late composer's brother in Vienna, he discover unpublished manuscripts by Schubert and proceeded to become an enthusiastic champion of his music. As different as their personalities might have been, the two would probably have been fast friends, had Schubert lived to see the day.

The works tackled by Javier Laso are different too, on the hand Schubert's monumental Sonata in B flat major, D. 960 (1828), a moving and mature statement completed mere weeks before his death, and on the other Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze, op. 6 (1837), written not all that long after his elder's sonata. In contrast to its four-part structure and its towering twenty-two-minute opening movement, Schumann's Romantic opus comprises eighteen succinct parts and famously gives musical expression to two sides of the composer, his infamous alter egos Florestan and Eusebius as conduits.

Born in Fribourg, Switzerland in 1975, Laso's no mangenue but rather someone who draws upon a wealth of personal and professional experiences when fashioning an interpretation. Growing up in a musical family, he studied early on at the Salamanca Conservatory and followed it with studies at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. During the past two decades, he's given a number of solo recitals and performed with chamber ensembles and as an orchestral soloist. Other recordings set the stage for the current one, and Laso currently teaches piano at the Tenerife Conservatory in Spain after having earlier taught at the Salamanca Conservatory.

Hewing to sonata form and executed at a moderate tempo, Schubert's opening movement, marked “Molto moderato,” begins with a triple-key exposition before advancing into an elaborate development section before recapitulating. After Laso's carefully measured articulation of the cantabile opening melody and an equally arresting second theme, the movement, buoyed by momentum and purpose, applies itself quickly to probing examinations of the material. Laso's playing engages throughout, though certain passages stand out as particularly ear-catching, the finesse of his playing seven minutes into the movement one such example. But, in truth, he sustains a high quality performance for the full measure of the movement, regardless of whether the tone of the episode is breezy or lyrical. The pianist gives the stately, “Andante sostenuto”-marked second movement an exquisite reading that's sensitive to its every nuance. The poise of Laso's performance impresses, as does his exuberant handling of the scherzo-styled third movement and its animated dance content and the authority with which he delivers the dramatic “Allegro, ma non troppo” finale.

As mentioned, the personae Florestan and Eusebius factor into the character of Davidsbündlertänze, Florestan associated with the impetuous and mischievous side and Eusebius the lyrical and poetic. A few of the movements involve both figures, but for the most part each is accorded multiple parts. Setting the tone is a bright, expansive “Lebhaft” in G major that references both figures, after which the B minor “Innig”— Eusebius, clearly—engages with touching introspection and melancholy. The “Mit Humor” marking alone identifies the next movement as a Florestan expression, though a few lyrical gestures manage to sneak in amongst the revelry, as does the grandiosity of the “Ungeduldig” that follows. The oscillation between moods and styles carries on throughout, from the intoxicating dreaminess of “Einfach,” “Nicht schnell,” and “Zart und singend” (Eusebius) to the boisterousness of “Sehr rasch,” “Frisch,” and “Mit gutem Humor” (Florestan), with the alternately tender and rousing “Wild und lustig,” “Frisch,” and “Wie aus der Ferne” again invoking both alter egos. An enticingly lullaby-like “Nicht schnell” (Eusebius a final time) ends the work, the close of Schumann's kaleidoscopic travelogue announced by the striking of low Cs.

January 2025