Composer: Robert Schumann
Performer: Steven Isserlis, Dénes Várjon
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67661
Release: 2009
Size: 277 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
01. I. Zart und mit Ausdruck
02. II. Lebhaft, leicht
03. III. Rasch und mit Feuer
Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Op. 70
04. I. Adagio
05. II. Allegro
Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, WoO 27
06. I. Ziemlich langsam – [Lebhaft]
07. II. Scherzo: Lebhaft
08. III. Intermezzo: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
09. IV. Finale: Markiertes, ziemlich lebhaftes Tempo
Clavier-Stücke, Op. 85
10. XII. Abendlied
Romances, Op. 94
11. I. Nicht schnell
12. II. Einfach, innig – Etwas lebhafter
13. III. Nicht schnell
Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102
14. I. Mit Humor ‘Vanitas vanitatum’
15. II. Langsam
16. III. Nicht schnell, mit viel Ton zu spielen
17. IV. Nicht zu rasch
18. V. Stark und markiert
‘There is no composer to whom I feel closer than to Schumann. He has been a beloved friend since I was a child; I remain as fascinated today as I was then by his unique blend of poetry, ecstatic strength and confessional intimacy.’ Steven Isserlis’s own words give the background to this fascinating disc.
Schumann’s affection for the cello ran deep. It was an instrument he had played in his youth, and considered taking up again when, at the age of twenty-two, an accident to his hand forced him to relinquish his dream of being a virtuoso pianist. ‘I want to take up the violoncello again (one needs only the left hand for this) and it will be very useful to me in composing symphonies’, he wrote to his mother. The sound of the cello played without the right hand would have been somewhat minimalist; but his love for the instrument is clearly demonstrated by the cello parts in all four of his symphonies, as well as in the concertos for piano and violin, and of course throughout his chamber music. As the great musicologist Donald Francis Tovey put it: ‘The qualities of the violoncello are exactly those of the beloved dreamer whom we know as Schumann.’