Let's talk music, no genre boundaries

Uchida is a genius especially in Mozart... ( Japan artists are special in my heart ) but i did not know her in Schubert i will go for it, thanks ...I dont doubt your opinion about Unchida and Schiff in Schubert, i guess you are right  at my first listening ...

For Schmitt i adore her...

But you must listen Szeryng complete sonatas to understand  his pulse way over every other interpretations i have heard...

I like Schmitt for his sound articulation...but the spiritual time content is in Szering...pick the first version, the second is not on the same level at all, miracles occur once .

@mahgister 

I think I like Helen Schmitt better, but it is a close call with Szeryng. For me, it sounds as if Schmitt is playing somewhere in a cave deep in the earth. Szeryng in a way is more beautiful, but not as souldful. Nicolaeva over Gould. I think for me it will always be Nikolaeva, but I must compare her to Mitsuko Uchida if I can.

Uchida has such a subtle touch which I have not heard in any other pianist. She has recorded all of Schubert's piano sonatas and his impromptus. I have both her recording and Schiff. Schiff is perfect but Uchida touches another dimension. You must listen carefully to hear it. She is like a Zen painter. Here is Uchida playing Schubert's Impromptu 899 second movement. What I would like you to listen to his her left hand and how she handles the harmonic theme. How she coaxes it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9YTnoBqGI4

Here is Schiff and again listen to his left hand and how he andles the harmonic theme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG2TL25nZ8U

@mahgister 

I don't know if you watch TV and if so if you watch cable shows. There is a French show called Astrid about a woman on the spectrum who loves Bach's Art of the Fugue. After watching that show, I dug through my records, many of which I have forgotten I own, and found Zoltan Kocsis playing Art of the Fugue. I have been listening to it for a while now. I will have to compare it to some of the others you have suggested.

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@mahgister 

After streaming a fair amount of Helene Schmitt and Henryk Szeryng, I would go with Schmitt hands down. There is one caveat, however; I am not sure how much of my opinion is due to the recordings. Sceryng's violin seemed edgy. He did not have the deep resonance, especially of the lower strings, that Schmitt has. I will have to listen to something other than Bach partitas to see if this is a quality of his or the recording. 

I cannot say nothing against this master pianist indeed...

I will go for him ... I did not have this one...

but i doubt it will replace Nikolaeva   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIoIPoA2DV0&list=PLfdMKJMGPPtzTChPnz9y772Y-t3z7_hWu

@mahgister 

After streaming a fair amount of Helene Schmitt and Henryk Szeryng, I would go with Schmitt hands down. There is one caveat, however; I am not sure how much of my opinion is due to the recordings. Sceryng’s violin seemed edgy. He did not have the deep resonance, especially of the lower strings, that Schmitt has. I will have to listen to something other than Bach partitas to see if this is a quality of his or the recording. 

As i said i love Schmitt playing...I even listen to her for casual listening or for the "sound" ...But Szeryng is reserved for sacred listening  where sound  recorded quality dont matter... 

And i played the devil here with you  suggesting the bad recording of Szeryng versus the seducing Schmitt version...

But so magnificent and beautiful is the violin sound and mastery of Schmitt, my prefered version, if Szeryng did not exist, there is no comparison at all for me between the two artists so transcendent is Szeryng here ...And i never listened to any other version because none rival him, but few rival Schmitt...

But to be frank there is a version that rival Szering without surpassing him for sure :

Nathan Milstein ( majestic just under Szeriyng ) and Josef Szigeti (completely original and fascinating  and very different playing than any other violonists then out of competition so to speak, like Schmitt who speak but do not sing, Szigeti speak prose and do not sing but his prose is sublime eloquence over even  Schmitt) 

 And there is one version rival of Schmitt for me : John Ehnes (almost perfect playing and more integrated playing than Schmitt more poetical than the perfect Schmitt  prose, but the sound  recording of Schmitt is unrivalled) ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpqpnd0-nV8&list=PLgDbwm0zQXxI9mj5mYaaEpwq83M1yue08

 Forget the sound and listen the music out of any comparison...

Szeryng sing and speak   as God voice, not Schmitt, not even Ehnes , not even the almost godly Milstein (whose sound recordings  and also playing by these three  is  one of the most spectacular i ever heard) ...