Schnabel was virtually the first pianist to champion Schubert’s sonatas, at a time when the composer was commonly thought to have had a weak grasp of large-scale forms. That we now have so many leading pianists dedicated to playing Schubert — Uchida, Kovacevich, Perahia, Cooper and Brendel, among others — can be traced to Schnabel’s example. Even in that exalted company, his recordings (expertly remastered) still stand up well. They include three sonatas (the great B flat particularly fine), the impromptus and moments musicaux, a vivid account of the Trout Quintet and the lovely A major four-hand Rondo, with Schnabel’s son Karl Ulrich. Three stars