Gerardo Constantini wrote regarding Schnabel's Beethoven sonatas:

>For me they are among the worst,but
>up to This days i am looking maybe for a reason which can justify his
>interpretations.

I may be able to offer such reasons if you can pinpoint your own dislike of
them. Is it the technical imperfections? Is it the rhythmic 'pointing' of
the music - rushing through runs, clipping the phrases? That is a stylistic
thing which other pianists like Rachmaninoff do too, to clarify what they
are playing. After a while you get used to it. Or is it the very slow slow
movements? In fact, Schnabel only sometimes plays that slowly, and when he
does I can usually find a musical reason. Also, he has such a strong sense
of line and melodic inflection that the music only very seldom falls apart,
despite the slow tempo.

I myself would tentatively say that I find Schnabel more interesting in
Schubert than in Beethoven - although I can't clearly say why, or even if
that statement represents my true opinion. Schnabel is not a 'titanic'
pianist - I would describe his playing as human in scale, natural and
unaffected, always going the shortest and simplest way to the musical
meaning. Perhaps I sometimes find his approach too unassertive for
Beethoven. But that depends entirely on my mood at the time. Listen to his
Waldstein sonata, or the Appassionata, or the last three. There I think you
can find him at his best.

Felix Delbruck
[log in to unmask]