Violist Rachel Roberts is out with a new recording of music by Schubert, Shostakovich, and by Benjamin Britten.
Ms. Roberts performs the selections as listed below:
Benjamin Britten:
- Lachrymae for viola & piano, Op. 48
Schubert:
- Sonata in A minor ‘Arpeggione’, D821
Shostakovich:
- Viola Sonata, Op. 147
Performed by Rachel Roberts (viola) and Lars Vogt (piano)
Rachel Roberts tells us: “….My approach to this piece (Schubert) has changed considerably since I first approached it over thirty years ago. As a child I enjoyed it for its beautiful themes and the seemingly happy, outwardly dance-like nature. With time, and a broadening acquaintance with Schubert – his language and individual code of writing, his character and life-events – I no longer feel only that element of simplicity or playfulness. The frequent reiteration of pianissimo and piano seems an expression of intimacy and intensity; the music’s meaning in this context becomes something extremely personal and nuanced, as though Schubert is confiding a deep secret, whatever the immediate nature of the theme may appear to be.
Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, opus 147, his last composition, is one of the most profound and harrowing statements of the composer’s most intimate thoughts and feelings ……..”
Let me illustrate with the music itself:
Here is the second movement, Adagio, from the Schubert Arpeggione sonata, in the version for Cello and Piano.
