Here is irrefutable proof of Arcadi Volodos's genius and versatility. Naturally, lovers of longcherished recordings by Schubertians of the stature of Schnabel, Kempff, Pollini and Brendel will hesitate, equating Volodos's sheen and perfection with an external glory rather than an interior poetic truth. But such witnesses for the prosecution will find themselves silenced by an empathy with Schubert's spirit so total that it would be extraordinary in a pianist of any age, let alone one still in his twenties.
The jubilant burst of scales and arpeggios that launch the E major Sonata, D157, are given with a deftness and unforced eloquence that are pure Volodos, while the Andante's sighing chromaticism and surprise modulations have a tonal translucence that will make lesser mortals weep with envy. But it's in the G major Sonata, D894, that epitome of Schubertian lyricism, that Volodos erases all possible doubts. His opening has an unforgettable stillness and mystery, his velvet-tipped sonority and seamless legato a reminder that Schubert's vocal and instrumental inspiration were for the most part one and the same. For Volodos and for his listeners this is a true dance of the gods. The recordings are as flawless as the playing.