Frank Braley . Renaud Capuçon . Gautier Capuçon

To be able to make the piano 'sing' is one of the highest achievements a pianist can hope to attain, or this is at least what Franz Schubert was thinking when he penned a letter to his parents in 1825. A piano should sound like a singing voice, "I can't stand this damned hacking which even good pianists seem to do". For Schubert the piano was chiefly a lyrical and expressive instrument. You can hear this most poignantly in his late chamber music, with his two piano trios written in 1827. Virtuosity is by the by, and in its place Schubert develops very distinct piano textures which, in combination with the strings, magically display a broad palette of colours. Schubert's device for making the piano sing was to place the unison octave melody in both hands. From his letters, we learn how Schubert's friends experienced his piano playing: "…it's as if the keys became singing voices when he played". The art of elevating the piano from a percussive to a 'singing' instrument is not given to everyone. For pianist Frank Braley, however, it's a piece of cake. Braley and the Capuçon brothers are the best interpreters of Schubert's subtle musicality one could imagine. Molto cantabile!