Sergei Kvitko Schubert by Candlelight - Live in Madrid CD

Reference Recordings is proud to present pianist, composer, and producer Sergei Kvitko's 2023 album, Schubert by Candlelight – Live in Madrid, a stunning collection of Schubert's piano works. The album features 13 piano works that showcase the beauty and depth of Schubert's music, as well as the artistry and versatility of Kvitko, who is not only an award­winning, critically acclaimed pianist, but also a composer, arranger, and internationally sought­after producer and sound engineer. The album was recorded at Hinves Pianos, Madrid, Spain on April 7, 2022. It was performed, produced, and engineered by Sergei Kvitko, assisted at the session by audio engineer Jorge Núñez Colell.

The works on this program include the 6 Moments Musicaux (Op. 94 (D. 780)), composed between 1823 and 1827, which are snapshots in time and lyric inspiration, almost improvisational and whimsical yet serious. They show, in a condensed way, the many sides of Schubert's lyric and melodic style. The 4 Impromptus (Op. 90 (D. 899)), composed in 1827, are masterpieces of thematic integration and elaboration–each Impromptu different from the next. They are unquestionably among the loveliest and most thoroughly characteristic of his short instrumental works. The program continues with the 2 Scherzi (D. 593), composed in 1817, which are happy and dance­like. Concluding the program is a somewhat unusual Minuet in C-­sharp minor (D. 600), composed in 1814, which is a miniature masterpiece in slower tempo and full of elegance.

This recital reminds us that Schubert's music is imbued entirely by the beauty and sweetness of the melody yet is intensely spontaneous and unplanned. Writing in his diary, Schubert stated: "Imagination—Man's greatest treasure, the inexhaustible spring at which we all refresh ourselves—be with us, even if few respect and honor you. You alone can save us from so­called 'enlightenment,'' that hideous skeleton without flesh and blood." Robert Schumann, writing in his diary, contemplates "And you, heavenly Schubert who left this world too soon—if ghosts and spirits and geniuses spoke to each other, they would speak like you; you are the celestial flowing spirit covered by its spring flowers."

Recorded in front of a live audience under the gentle glow of candlelight, the album captures the intimate and expressive atmosphere of the concert, as well as the brilliant and nuanced playing of Kvitko, who has been praised for his "natural, appealing musicality and sensual understanding of piano tone" (The Chronicle­-Herald).

This new Reference Recording has earned a spot on my shelf; indeed, I would recommend fans of Schubert's keyboard music to seek it out expeditiously.