Schubert: Impromptus, Opp. 90 & 142

Schubert’s Impromptus balance intense passion and drama with grace and impish humour—and with all that to consider, pianists find them deceptively tricky to perform. As he tells Apple Music Classical, Eric Lu has a deep connection to Schubert. “I find his music endlessly deep, searching and expressing the very depths of his life, his personality, and also of the human soul in general,” he says. “He really is perhaps the most beautiful composer of all.” Lu allows the essential beauty in Schubert’s music to shine without resorting to extremes of tempo or dynamics, with each musical phrase perfectly shaped, every note a jewel in its own right. Listen to Nos 3 and 4 of the D 899 set and you’ll encounter piano playing of exquisite restraint and control, while in the dance-like No. 4, D 935, there’s a clarity of touch resulting from a combination of brilliant fingerwork, and a frugal use of the sustaining pedal.