In this moving recital, pianist András Schiff performs Schubert's Four Impromptus D. 899. These virtuoso pieces, inspired by the lied form (which the composer mastered to perfection), represent the lyrical apogee of his piano repertoire. Composed in 1827, each of these wordless songs paints a unique musical landscape and builds up in a surge of emotion. Schubert's spellbinding score skilfully blends exaltation and melancholy from the first impromptu, half-sonata, half-ballad, to the final cascades of the last piece. They interweave wonderfully in this expressive and lively 1989 interpretation by Sir András Schiff, a fervent admirer of the composer.