Piano Sonatas
Radu Lupu is one of our greatest contemporary pianists. He works within  a relatively narrow range on recordings (although he plays a greater variety in  concert) and makes only a few of them. But as a player of music from Beethoven  to Brahms--and especially of Schubert--he has made some of the best piano CDs in  the catalog. His playing here is simply exquisite. The lighthearted D. 664  sounds carefree and charming, while the deep emotionalism of Schubert's last  Piano Sonata (D. 960) is extremely convincing and affecting here. These are  recordings for the ages, so we are fortunate that their piano sound is so good.--Leslie Gerber