The second movement - no, if you haven't the time, skip these words and watch the video
- the second movement of Schubert's posthumous sonata D. 960 is strange. It's in C-sharp minor, which is about the most unexpected you can think of after the first movement's B-flat major, so the listener and even the pianist are startled and confused. There are some more sudden changes of key. Still, those aren't really startling otherwise, it's all slow and calm and very beautiful. Richter has the perfect lyric way, unobsessive.
The next level is the slightly haunting bass. Here, Richter makes the suspenseful staccato, always subdued, into something merciless.
The movement ends in a major key, which usually gives you a feeling of liberation, sometimes even triumph. Here, there's certainly a kind of serenity, but I feel the threat is still there, so it appears more like an acceptance of one's fate.
Other pianists I hold in high regard have recorded this nicely enough, to be sure, such as Schnabel in his delicate sovereignty, or Horowitz in his effortless elegance, but nobody surpasses Richter in his hermitic, sad beauty.
The sheet music and recordings of the full movement are on the net, though I couldn't find this particular recording, I'm afraid. It's from 1976, and the interview was made a short time before Richter died in 1997.
