Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 959 & 960 Dong Hyek Lim

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959:
• 1Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959: I. Allegro16:20
• 2Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959: II. Andantino08:34
• 3Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959: III. Scherzo05:12
• 4Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959: IV. Rondo12:01
• Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960:
• 5Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: I. Molto moderato15:10
• 6Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: II. Andante sostenuto09:43
• 7Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: III. Scherzo03:40
• 8Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960: IV. Allegro ma non troppo08:43
• Total Runtime01:19:23

Info for Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 959 & 960

For his 20th anniversary, Lim released his sixth album with Warner Classics (previously called EMI Classics), entitled "Schubert: Piano Sonatas.” The album consists of two of three final sonatas for solo piano – Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major D. 959 and No. 21 in B Flat Major D. 960 – written by Schubert during the final months of his life.

“They make a good pair because they are very contrasting,” he said. “D. 959 conveys [Schubert's] message more clearly and is brighter and more classical compared to D. 960, which is a little more romantic, softer and possibly more ambiguous. I can’t say Schubert himself knew he was going to die that year, but I can feel the depth in this music. The second movement contains sounds that seem as though they are signaling death."

Though the pianist was nicknamed the “Chopin specialist” for his triumphs at two Chopin competitions, Lim has frequently expressed his affection for Schubert.

“It’s not like I think about or plan which pieces to play and record at a certain age,” said Lim. “I naturally found myself playing Schubert’s final pieces before his death in recent years. I guess his music didn’t really move me as much when I was in my early 20s. The more I played his music, I wanted to record it, though it may not be the perfect version of my performance of Schubert. I may be able to play it better 20 years later. But just as you want sometimes to take a picture and have it framed for memory, I wanted to record my performance of his pieces at this time of my life.”

Dong Hyek Lim, piano

Dong Hyek Lim
has won top prizes at various competitions. In September 1996, he had captured international attention by winning the second prize at the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow as the youngest participant of that year (his elder brother Dong-Min Lim tied for the first prize). In 2000, Lim took the fifth prize at the International Busoni Piano Competition in Italy, which later became known as 'Busoni Shock' (the entire juries were replaced for the next year's competition). He went on to win the second prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan later that year. In December 2001, not only did he become the youngest winner of the Premier Grand Prix in the history of the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris, but also he won five other special awards. In October 2005, Lim participated in the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and, for the first time in the history of Korea, took the third prize; tied with his elder brother Dong-Min Lim (no second prize was awarded). In June 2007, Lim participated in the 13th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, shared fourth prize with Sergei Sobolev (no first prize was awarded).

Booklet for Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 959 & 960