MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Papillons Op. 2 (1832) [14.50]
Piano sonata in F sharp minor Op. 11 (Introduzione. Un poco Adagio - Allegro vivace [13.11]; Aria [3.06]; Scherzo e Intermezzo. Allegrissimo - Lento [5.09]; Finale. Allegro un poco maestoso [11.49]) (1836)
Kinderszenen Op. 15 (1838) [13.04]
Fantasie in C major Op. 17 (Durchaus phantastisch und liedenschaftlich vorzutragen [11.48]; Massig, Durchaus energisch [7.47]; Langsam getragen [11.31]) (1839)
Waldszenen Op. 82 (Eintritt [2.05]; Jager auf der Lauer [1.24]; Einsame Blumen [1.55]; Verrufene Stelle [3.28]; Freundliche Landschaft [1.10]; Herberge [2.03]; Vogel als Prophet [3.00]; Jagdlied [2.39]; Abschied [3.35]) (1849)
Geister Variations (1854) [8.91]
Fantasie in C major Op. 17 - Langsam getragen [10.57]
András Schiff (piano)
rec. June 2010, Historischer Reitstadel, Neumarkt
ECM NEW SERIES 2122/23 (476 3909) [60.29 + 69.73]

Experience Classicsonline



 
András Schiff has chosen a selection of pieces which span the whole of Schumann’s creative output for this recital. They range from the early Papillons to the Geister variations which was the last piece of music Schumann wrote before his mental breakdown and incarceration in an asylum. In the programme notes, he makes clear that Charles Rosen alerted him to a manuscript of the third movement of the C major Fantasie in the Szechenyi Library in Budapest which has an alternative ending. In this version - which was ultimately rejected by Schumann - the composer quotes Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte at the end of the movement. Schiff plays both versions to allow listeners to compare and contrast.
 
In Papillons, Schiff conjures a wonderful selection of colours and contrasts from the piano and his phrasing is immaculate. He brings to life in a vivid way the imaginative story telling of Jean Paul on whose stories Schumann’s music is based. The various quicksilver changes of mood are beautifully realised. It is a superb recording although Schiff cannot quite match Cortot’s quixotic flights of fancy.
 
Schiff’s recording of Schumann’s Sonata in F sharp minor is, for my money, the best performance on this two disc set. The introduction has an architectural grandeur which serves as a wonderful curtain-raiser for the piece. Schiff captures brilliantly the nervous energy and exhilaration in the ensuing Allegro vivace and his phrasing is highly nuanced with a lot of attention to detail. The subsequent aria is played with a serene simplicity and directness although Schiff is careful not to allow the wonderfully romantic melody to drift into mawkishness or sentimentality. The dotted rhythms of the scherzo are played very tightly and there is a sense of the piece unwinding like a coiled spring, while the comical and playful elements of the trio are deftly brought out. In the finale Schiff engages the listener’s attention immediately with a brisk and businesslike opening while the subsequent episodic material is sewn together in a seamless way.
 
Schiff’s rendition of Kinderszenen also has a lot to recommend it with each of Schumann’s miniatures wonderfully characterised. The central Traumerei has a formal elegance that brings out, in a lovely way, the contours of the piece. Schiff gives a highly poetic and sensitive account of Kind im Einschlummern while Ritter von Streckenpferd has a childlike abandon which is highly appealing. While this is a first rate account, Schiff does not quite efface the poetic insights of Lupu.
 
The performance in these discs which I had most of a problem with was Schiff’s account of Schumann’s great C major Fantasie. The opening movement was taken at a brisk pace. The opening melody is full of romantic yearning and ardour but Schiff’s fastidious attention to detail seemed to impede the subsequent natural flow of the work and the mercurial changes in mood. The march in the second movement was again taken at a brisk pace with the dotted and cross-rhythms handled well. That said, Schiff did not fully capture the robustness and vigour of the music; this version of the march was a little too precious for my taste. The slow movement was exceptionally beautiful and it was indeed a very stimulating experience to hear the two alternative versions. The build-up and climax to the movement was played with a fluidity and passionate intensity that was highly engaging.
 
There was much to admire in Waldszenen with Schiff giving a highly polished account of each of these delightful miniatures. The opening Eintritt did not quite have the magical echoes that one hears in Richter’s account, while Jager an der Lauer seemed a little laboured and overly detailed. However, Schiff captured perfectly the surreal and fantastical quality in Vogel als Prophet and Abschied was played with ravishing warmth and beauty of tone.
 
Schiff ends his recital with the heart breaking Geister variations which also serves as the title of these discs. I heard Schiff play this work in the Wigmore Hall recently and am delighted that he has chosen to champion it. The feelings of sadness and dissociation are conveyed with deep sensitivity while Schiff uses highly skilful pedalling to reveal the sense of hallucinatory unease and anguish particularly in the final variation. Schiff’s performance was profoundly moving and the discs are worth getting for this work alone.
 
Robert Beattie 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.