The start is disappointing. In D899 No. 1 in C minor Gavrilov's tempo is too brisk and his step too jaunty at the outset, and I thought his dynamic contrasts often too extreme in what follows, with some hardening of tone above a certain dynamic level (and that's true throughout the disc). In No. 2 in E flat, his rippling right hand triplets are obscured in a pedal haze, and at times his sforzando accentuation—particularly in the minor key ben marcato outbursts—is crude. Things improve in No. 3 in G flat where, in deference to Schubert's alla breve time-signature, he allows the melody a swiftish but for the most part gracious flow. And though there's a suspicion of over-driving in the final crescendo of the opening and closing sections of No. 4 in A flat, there are acutely sensitive moments in the C sharp minor trio's central song.
Moving on to the more expansive pieces of D935, it increasingly seemed to me that Gavrilov's aim was to banish the image of Schubert as a mere domestic charmer. His approach to No. 1 in F minor is both urgent and graphic, with unusual innuendos (in part deriving from his pointed fourth-beat accentuation) in its extended episodes of treble and bass duetting. No. 2 in A flat, taken more slowly than is common for an allegretto made me think of Sarastro-like solemnities. But the note of command in the fortissimo chords of the middle section of the main theme is surely too heavily underlined. In the Rosamunde theme and variations of No. 3 in B flat Gavrilov eschews all prettification in favour of straightforward, albeit somewhat unsmiling, fluency. I welcomed the nostalgia he brings to the third B flat minor variation, but thought his coda disproportionately slow. No. 4 in F minor is not the headlong rush sometimes heard, but a crisply articulated, scherzando dance. In conclusion I can only say that since more than one road leads to Rome, it's no bad thing to hear a somewhat different Russian slant on these all too familiar pieces. But for the true, humanly vulnerable Viennese Schubert, I'd advise collectors to stick to old friends like Brendel (Philips), Perahia (CBS) and Lupu (Decca).'