The sound on this recording is really excellent—broad, deep, and ringing, with wondrous depth and spatial properties. It is almost enough to make one forget the performances and focus in too lavishly on the properties of the tonal qualities themselves. But the music’s the thing, and in the end the most important thing at that. This is the second disc I have had the opportunity of hearing the young Mr. Helmchen, and the impression remains high. It is an odd thing in classical music that we often think artists need the “maturity” and “life experience” before they tackle certain pieces, even if the composer at the time was about the same age as the current performer! Such is the case with Schubert; we often look to the older master pianists in order to bring out the profundity in these works even though Schubert was not much more than a kid himself, and one wonders what he would have thought about the very notion of finding any profundities in his music. But the artist functions on a different level, often granted in prophetic form to present things to us that even he may not understand completely.
Helmchen plays this music with full authority and clarity, though it sounds like a young man’s take on Schubert. Perhaps I am just jaded, and should learn to listen with fresher ears than I currently have on. It’s as if the pianist is telling me that “yes, this is the real Schubert, so leave your land of make believe and come down to earth.” On that level it works well, and the A Major is a work that has some playful moments. But I still hear more depth, if that is even the word, when I listen to Uchida and Brendel on Philips, or even the fireside chats of Schnabel on EMI, who also offers us these Moments musicaux. Yet there is something compelling about Helmchen that might actually make me appreciate these more established masters even more.
The Moments musicaux are sweet vignettes, played in a more convincing manner than the sonata, to my ears, and quite affecting. The jury is still out on Helmchen’s Schubert playing—he certainly has the requisite lyrical capacity, but needs to wade in the dark waters of the flip side of Schubert’s disposition a little more, and I’ll bet his Schubert recordings to come will eventually reflect this. In the meantime, tough repertory in a crowded field demands some sturdy chops, and Martin is off to a fine start.
— Steven Ritter
