Composer: Robert Schumann
Performer: Bernd Glemser
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Size: 216 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no
01. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11: I. Introduzione: Un poco adagio – Allegro vivace
02. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11: II. Aria
03. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11: III. Scherzo: Allegrissimo. Intermezzo. Lento
04. Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11: IV. Finale: Allegro un poco maestoso
05. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14: I. Allegro
06. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14: II. Scherzo
07. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14: III. Quasi variazioni: Andantino de Clara Wieck
08. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14: IV. Prestissimo possibile
# Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor (“Grosse Sonate”), Op. 11
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Bernd Glemser
# Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor (“Concerto Without Orchestra”), Op. 14
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Bernd Glemser
SUPERLATIVE SCHUMANN
In the wrong hands, Schumann’s monumental first and third piano sonatas can become gargantuan bores, pressing the limits with their youthful manipulations, fragmentation and repetitive ideas. Could be why these works are so infrequently recorded. Of the few pianists who did are Arrau, Kuerti, and Horowitz, to name the brave pre-digital-era group, and more recently, Andsnes and Lee. None, though, tackled the two together.
Bernd Glemser seems the intrepid first, and what a marvelously endowed contribution he has made to the literature. His performances of these lengthy Schumann works are so filled with new ideas, so sensitive to innermost detail and voicing, so overtly rich with the fantastical permutations imbued in every bar, so idiomatic and so obviously loving of the music itself that these sonatas spring to life with an energetic devotion second to none.
Without glorifying his own immense talent, Glemser reveals Schumann’s in all its tormented impetuosity, virtuosity and bitter yearning. With great eloquence, phenomenal insight, and an undeniable reverence, the pianist pays true homage to the composer. In so doing, he invokes the spirit of Schumann as well as raising these sonatas to their rightful place. The remarkable recording, too, complements Glemser’s vision in every possible way.