Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D 894

Yekwon Sunwoo, Piano
Gold Medallist Van Cliburn International Piano Competition 2017

Franz Schubert (1797-1827) / Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
“Der Müller und der Bach”, S. 565 (from “Die schöne Müllerin”, D 795)
“Der Erlkönig” S. 558 (from the Song D 328)
“Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen”, S. 562 (from the Sacred Song D 343)

Franz Schubert (1797-1827)
Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D 894

This concert got recorded live on 27 August 2022 at the Gstaad Chapel.

A disciple of Richard Goode at the Mannes School of Music in New York, Yewon Sunwoo has undoubtedly inherited his taste for the Viennese classics from his master, prompting him to venture into this 100% Schubert programme, which is not as obvious as it might seem. Schubert was the author of nearly 600 lieder, some of whose highlights Liszt did not hesitate to reappropriate, but also of sublime sonatas for which it was necessary to wait a (very) long time for them to be given the place they deserve – by the pioneering interpretations of the late Paul Badura-Skoda in particular. The Sonata No. 18 chosen by the Korean virtuoso was considered by Schumann to be “the most perfect in spirit and form”, while Liszt compared it to a “Virgilian poem”.