Again, as with the first disc which I reviewed in April in this recently launched pilgrimage through Schubert's last six years, I felt I was listening to a maturer (i.e. older) artist than Imogen Cooper in fact is: her playing is so mellow, so lyrically benign, so poised. In the big A major Sonata of the composer's last few months, it's hardly surprising to find her closer in spirit to her erstwhile mentor, Alfred Brendel (Philips), than to the imperious Pollini (DG—a two-disc set), who while experiencing every phrase with the maximum intensity, finds outlet for his feeling in a more classically commanding style. Pollini's first movement, in particular, is more of a public statement, whereas from Imogen Cooper it is personal, even visionary, enough to remind you—no less than the first movement of its successor in B flat—of Schubert's admission at this time: ''I feel I no longer belong to this world''. Though no slave to the metronome in either of the first two movements, she is not quite as highly-strung as Brendel in response to every heightening or relaxation of tension—and I personally think Schubert better served by her comparative rhythmic discipline, even if the spectres she conjures up in the middle of her intimately inflected slow movement are less frightening than his. Though her tempo in the last two movements is marginally slower than that of her rivals the Scherzo still dances, and the movement as a whole is unified by her judicious response to the Trio's un poco piu lento marking. The finale brings strong episodic contrast as well as imaginative shading of the main theme's varied scorings and tonal excursions; not a note sounds redundant.
Comparison with Brendel (nla) in the Reliquie reveals total singlemindedness in the Andante, which flows with a moving inevitability from them both. If the first movement emerges more challenging, more arrestingly dramatic, from Brendel, this is not just due to stronger internal tension but also to his greater willingness (rightly or wrongly) to press ahead in heightened excitement. Her own reading has a different strength.
The Ecossaises are delightfully done in a way reminding us that it was very much Vienna, and not the Highlands, that still claimed Schubert's heart. In its warmth and truth, the recording brings the piano into your own room.'