Curzon recorded the D major Sonata and the two Impromptus at the Sofiensaal, Vienna, in June 1964. The Moments musicaux followed in February 1971 (from The Maltings, Snape) and it proved to be his last but one recording even though he lived for another 11 years. Remastered, these performances now share a disc in Decca's mid-price Classic Sound series commemorating some of the company's earlier ventures into stereo.
I have to confess to slight disappointment in the actual sound quality of the Sofiensaal items as reproduced here: though mellow, it struck me as rather confined, somewhat less vibrant than that of the original LP (which still has a cherished place in my own collection). But not for a moment should a mere personal reaction of that kind deter anyone from buying this disc. There was only one Curzon, and his way with Schubert had a magic all his own.
For the D major Sonata he finds a light-fingered, smiling eagerness at once evoking a still young, Viennese Schubert wholly in love with life. His cajoling charm in the second subjects of the brilliant first movement and dancing Scherzo is unforgettable. If his tempo for the second movement might at first seem slowish for con moto, he faithfully maintains it throughout proving his wisdom in the finesse it enables him to lavish on proliferating decorative detail. And how often throughout the performance I recalled Harold Schonberg's comment that Curzon's pianissimo had 20 degrees of shading. The miniatures in their turn have the spontaneous freshness of new discovery. The last of the Moments musicaux graver than we often hear it, ends the disc like a benediction.'