Mitsuko Uchida plays Franz Schubert

One can certainly understand why so many listeners respond to Mitsuko Uchida’s Schubert playing. Her warm, clear tone; her light, strong touch; her supple, powerful technique; her intimate, emotional interpretations: all these things are undeniably attractive. In this set of recordings made from 1997 through 2002, Uchida plays Schubert’s music with sensitivity and sympathy, letting his lines sing, his harmonies sound, his rhythms dance, and his forms shimmer. For listeners looking to hear the beautiful in Schubert, Uchida’s performances are a clear first choice. One can also understand why other listeners might prefer other Schubert players. Artur Schnabel found more depth in his harmonies, Radu Lupu found more poetry in his lines, Maria-João Pires found more lyricism in his melodies, Stephen Kovacevich found more drama in his forms, Wilhelm Kempff found more grandeur in his structures, and, of course, Sviatoslav Richter found more of everything — more depth, more poetry, more lyricism, more drama, and far more grandeur and profundity — than any other pianist ever found in Schubert’s music. For listeners familiar with Schnabel, Lupu, Pires, Kovacevich, Kempff, or especially Richter’s Schubert, Uchida’s Schubert may seem pretty at best. Philips’ piano sound is as Philips’ piano sound has always been: translucent and luminous. — AllMusic, James Leonard