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SCHUMANN Carnaval, Op 9; Waldszenen, Op 82; Album for the Young Op 68 (seven pieces only).   Andreas Boyde (piano) Athene Minerva ATH CD8 [DDD] [55' 07"]

 


Crotchet




Schumann's Carnaval is not the most popular work among concert pianists. I know several who refuse to play it. It is a youthful, immature and flawed work and really is a collection of twenty miniature pieces put together as a whole. In fact, some pieces are not even miniatures but aphorisms with pieces lasting 15 seconds, 29 seconds, 36 seconds, 37 seconds, 50 seconds and so on. And yet people complain about Webern's music being too short!! It is very difficult to amalgamate all this into a satisfactory whole. The inner turmoil in Schumann's life as to whether he wanted marry his fiancée Ernestine von Fricker or to release his passion for Clara Wieck is shown in this erratic work. Some of the music is good... perhaps, even very good... and some of it is both poor and aggravating. The opening Preambule is sturdy and later sparkles but at such a brisk pace it sounds crude, although brilliantly played. Pierrot is simply awful and with repeated three notes standing out like sore and painfully throbbing thumbs. Arlequin is also silly and now we have five-note painful thumbs. Such over-repetition is the sign of poor composition as well as lacking subtlety. The Valse Noble is that sort of cheap salon music and Eusebius sometimes sounds like Victorian pub music. Florestan is a ghastly angry waltz and has some more silly sounds with a repeated two note clanging. Replique is a good piece which Boyde propels along, but by the time we arrive at Chiarina, that cheap sound is back. The next piece is called Chopin ... but why? Reconnaissance is another example of silly music but many will love it. The German Waltz: Paganini is awful and crude ... really poor quality light music. The final March goes a little way to redeem this annoying work. But it is brilliantly played and excellently recorded.

Waldszenen is far better music although only the first two and last pieces of the nine are outstanding ... the rest is rather ordinary and I do wish someone would shoot that Prophetic Bird!

The seven pieces from Op 68 are unpretentious pieces.

Really splendid piano playing but the music? Well do I understand the many pianists refusing to play Carnaval.

Reviewer

David Wright

Performances

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Athene


Reviewer

David Wright

Performances

Recording

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