Katia et Marielle Labeque - Schubert, Mozart (2007)

Since they started their own KML label, the Labèque sisters have turned in one superb recording after another. First came a brilliant all-Ravel disc, then an incandescent disc of Debussy and Stravinsky, and now a disc combining Schubert and Mozart: the former with his colossal Fantasy in F minor, D. 940, plus the melancholy Andantino varié in B minor, D. 823, and the latter, with his monumental Sonata in D major, D. 448. In all three works, the Labèques are magnificent, but very different. In the F minor Fantasy, the sisters are emotionally tempestuous, storming and raging up and down their keyboards in waves of expressive intensity. In the B minor Variations, the Labèques are inward and introverted, playing with a softer touch and a more intimate tone. In the D major Sonata, the Labèques are more objective and classicizing, taking Mozart's three-movement work and performing it as an exquisitely poised piece of musical architecture. In all three works, as usual, the Labèques play with flawless technique and impeccable ensemble. Recorded in Gustav Mahler Hall in Dobbiaco, Italy, in January 2007, the digital sound here is close, warm, and all encompassing.