Marc-André Hamelin, Piano

Russian music from the imperial and Soviet eras sets the stage for Schubert’s moving contemplation on his own mortality. Scriabin’s Fantasy and Feinberg’s dark-hued Sonata No. 3 are both impassioned works that present substantial technical challenges. No less daunting are Prokofiev’s set of five pungent Sarcasms, innovative works of great color and rhythmic drive. In Schubert’s B-flat Major Sonata, written two months before his death, the composer ponders his end in the first two movements, but an energetic scherzo lightens the mood before the driving finale.