Pierre-Laurent Aimard devoting a whole disc to Schubert Dances? A far-fetched idea, you’d think. It’s almost as if the late Maurizio Pollini had decided to record Moszkowski’s Fifteen Virtuoso Etudes Op. 72. Yet Aimard clearly has an affinity for this repertoire. Basically the pianist mixes and matches pieces from various Schubert dance groupings, such as the 20 Waltzes D. 146, the 12 German Dances D. 790, the 17 Ländler D. 366. He proceeds from one work to the next without stopping, and without taking any repeats. That’s 112 dances in 68 minutes. It’s like a Schubert dance DJ set, but with a piano instead of turntables.
Aimard likens the process to a sleepwalker’s journey, rather than a series of dances. Indeed, there’s a seeming informality to Aimard’s genial, unpressured interpretations, as if he were relaxing at the piano, casually reading through one Schubert dance after another with no aim in mind other than pure enjoyment. However, close listening reveals subtle contrasts in tempo, key relationships, and mood. Juxtaposing the intimate, song-like Ländler D. 145 and the quasi-orchestral German Dances D. 783 is a case in point.
Note, too, the contrast between the familiar lyrical F major piece from the Valses Nobles D. 969 and the intense high-register writing in the E minor Grazer Waltz from D. 924 that follows. While Aimard clearly has pondered every tempo, every phrase, and every dynamic gradation, the results sound fluid, natural, and never less than beautiful. Certainly the pianist benefits from a responsive vintage Steinway and gorgeous engineering. In short, Pierre-Laurent Aimard can host my Schubertiads anytime!
