This album by pianist Mathieu Gaudet is the fifth volume in his wonderful collection of complete sonatas and major works for piano composed by Franz Schubert. While it is true that Schubert’s music is often tinged with a hushed melancholy, at times it is suffused with an optimistic, bountiful light that ardently celebrates life, such as the radiant Sonata No. 16 in D Major, D. 850, the Sonata No. 5 in A-flat Major, D. 557 and the Variations in A Minor, D. 576 offered here. © Analekta