When first approached to review this Schubert recording I thought, how boring, how predictable. How wrong, and how pleasantly surprised I was. I’ve long been a fan of Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu’s recording of the Fantasia in F minor for piano duet, and rarely do other recordings rate as highly. David Fray and Jacques Rouvier, however, have produced a strong contender. Young French pianist Fray’s playing is assured and sensitive, and his rendering of the duet with his teacher Rouvier is entrancingly beautiful. In a promotional video for the CD Fray says his idea behind the recording was to ‘show the point at which form [of the Fantasy] gives way to imagination, poetry and inspiration’. Correspondingly, Fray’s playing abounds with imagination, poetry and inspiration.The opening Piano Sonata in G major, from which the CD takes its title, is a highlight. Even the first chord, preceded by a brief pause, seems inspired. Fray’s playing is so tender, so intense, I can’t help but be completely captivated and stop whatever I’m doing to give the recording my full attention. Skip forward to the final track, ‘Lebensstürme’ for piano duet, and Fray demonstrates his capacity for energetic, impassioned playing. Imaginative, poetic, Schubertian bliss.

Alexandra Mathew