Four Impromptus D 899, op. 90
Fugue in D minor D 24c
Fugue in C major D 24a
Four Impromptus D 935, op. 142

Once your ears adjust to the rather 'dry' sonics of the Fortepiano, the chronological link between the harpsichord and the modern grand piano, you quickly begin to notice a heightened level of detail across the full range of the keyboard. The lower bass notes may lack depth, but they make up for that with more bite and sharpness of tone, whilst the upper register notes sparkle with clarity. The instrument used for this recording was built by Michael Rosenberger in Vienna around 1820, and restored by Edwin Beunk.

Pianist Shuann Chai instantly puts this instrument to work in her favor. As pointed out in this previous review of Shuann's Beethoven Sonatas recording, a musician can't blur, camouflage or enhance his playing by hiding behind a grand piano's resonant character. Whatever expressive touches the music calls for, they have to be created from scratch on an instrument like this. In other words, it puts out what you put in. She makes this crystal clear in her interpretation of the Op. 90, No. 3 in G-flat major. With its constant movement, flow and left hand rumbles, it's easy for any expressivity (or lack thereof) to get garbled and drowned out by a modern piano's rich sound. But here, the expressive warmth and dramatic touches that you hear are all created and imposed on the music by Shuann Chai's direct input and the fortepiano's response to it.

Franz Schubert himself would have owned an instrument much like this one, so what you hear in this recording is as close to his conception as possible. Shuann Chai easily makes you lose sight of the fact that you are listening to a 200 year old fortepiano, and diverts your attention where it belongs, to the music itself.