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After his highly acclaimed recordings of the complete Mozart piano sonatas, pianist William Youn, who was born in South Korea and has been living in Munich for many years, began a cycle of piano sonatas by Franz Schubert. The first volume received fantastic reviews: "For the program alone, Youn's selections each offer a characteristic example of Schubert's various stages of compositional development. The playing is of exquisite beauty and simplicity. And in doing so, Youn expands the interpretive spectrum of Schubert's sonatas to include an intimate tone all his own. He leaves room for the music to unfold in a completely unpathetic and unforced manner, while maintaining a constant flow and soft but clear outlines. Youn's playing convinces [...] through flawless, perfectly realized naturalness." (Fono Forum, Album of the Month, 5 Stars)
The second album features the Sonatas nos. 4 (D. 537), 18 (D. 894), 19 (D. 958) and 20 (D. 959). The latter three are among Schubert's final major compositions for solo piano. No. 18 was the last of Schubert's sonatas published during his lifetime and was later described by R. Schumann as the "most perfect in form and conception" of any of Schubert's sonatas. Schubert composed the Sonatas Nos. 19 and 20 during the last months of life, between the spring and autumn of 1828; they were published ten years after his death and are now considered mature masterpieces. The album also includes the Adagio in E major, D. 612. "I chose this movement as a link between the two sonatas D. 537 and 959, because the music sounds like an improvisation to me", Youn explains.
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