Schumann's Chamber Music

[Mandryka]

One of the things I'm starting to see more and more clearly is that Schumann wrote some amazing  chamber music.

Over the past few weeks I have become completely addicted to Märchenerzählungen, Op 132. I think this is a real summit, totally charming and distinctive: it completely gives the lie to any suggestion that Schumann's high opus numbers are all turkeys. The recording I have is a poor sounding mp3  with Hubeau and Boeykens. Is this the best performance?  It seems pretty fantastic to me.

And the album of Cello music from Stephen Isserlis and Dénes Várjon  has been giving me loads of pleasure. The transcription of the Third Violin sonata is really interesting music – I love the final movement. And the 5 Stücke im Volkston (Op. 102) are great fun.

I have had less luck with the quartet recordings. I have an ancient recording from the Flonzaley Quartet of Op 41/1, But it does sound old.  Unfortunately I just don't like Thomas Zehetmair – there's just no playfulness about his music making, it's just too dour for me. I'd love a suggestion for a nice recording of the quartets.

Anyway – here's a place for any ideas about this music and its performance on record.

[Brahmsian]

I have had less luck with the quartet recordings. I have and ancient recording from the Flonzaley Quartet of Op 44/1, But it does sound old. I just don't like Thomas Zehetmair – there's just no playfulness about his music making, it's just too dour for me. I'd love a suggestion for a nice recording of the quartets.

Definitely give Fine Arts Quartet on Naxos a try, for the Opus 44 quartets.  Or, give St. Lawrence SQ a shot.

[71 dB]

One of the things I'm starting to see more and more clearly is that Schumann wrote some amazing  chamber music.

That's probably true but unfortunately in my case Schumann has been a victim of the fact that time and money are limited. Only recently I bought the only chamber work by him I own (Piano Quintet on Naxos). 

Over the past few weeks I have become completely addicted to Märchenerzählungen, Op 132. I think this is a real summit, totally charming and distinctive: it completely gives the lie to any suggestion that Schumann's high opus numbers are all turkeys. The recording I have is a poor sounding mp3  with Hubeau and Boeykens. Is this the best performance?  It seems pretty fantastic to me.

I just listened to this work on Spotify (Michael Collins, Steven Isserlis, Stephen Hough / RCA Red Seal). I agree that it is amazingly charming music! 

[Mandryka]

I just listened to this work on Spotify (Michael Collins, Steven Isserlis, Stephen Hough / RCA Red Seal). I agree that it is amazingly charming music! 

Glad you liked it.

Kurtag liked it too -- it inspired his trio Hommage à R. Sch.

[kishnevi]

The quintet is the only one of which I have more than one recording;  I prefer this one to the other two I have (Quatour Berende and Beaux Arts Trio being the core ensemble on those two).

The quartets and the sonatas, I just plain like
(and the sonatas add more evidence to disprove that high opus numbers = turkey)

[Herman]

The three string quartets op. 41 are must haves. They are top Schumann, as are the two violin sonatas. The piano trios are great, too. I like the 5 Stücke im Volkston a lot too. Personally I have heard the piano quintet a little too often.

[mjwal]

Kurtag liked it too -- it inspired his trio Hommage à R. Sch.

Mandryka - that's why I am faintly surprised you don't mention the ECM CD with Kashkasian/Levin/Brunner offering that very work, his Jelek & Neun Stücke für Viola solo, plus Schumann's Opp. 73, 113 & 132. I haven't listened to it in a while but I listened to it a lot after I got it back in '95 - riveting.
I have never really warmed to the string quartets, though I actually found the Zehetmair Qt rather good - and I also have the Muir, Eder and Kreuzberger Qts of distant memory (I noted Brahmsian's recommendation of the Fine Arts Qt, but I was disappointed by their Fauré piano quintets).
More to my taste are the Piano Quartet & Quintet, in which I enjoy the Barylli Qt with Demus, the Via Nova/Hubeau and Emerson/Pressler - the latter, of course, being rather streamlined compared with the olde worlde charm of the others, particularly the Barylli, but still very satisfying.
I am going to get down to the trios this summer - so far I only have No.1 in various historical performances (Cortot, Thibaud , Casals; Horzowski, Schneider, Casals) and #2 with the Haydn Trio, all long time no hear, but I am waiting for the new Vienna Brahms Trio Naxos recordings, which have been very well received.
My long-time favourite for the first 2 violin sonatas has been Eva Graubin/Paraskivesco (CBS), now I also have all three with Isabelle Faust/Avenhaus, very recommendable too, though I do miss Graubin's inimitable smoky tone, especially in the D-minor - she has more Innigkeit to my ears, while Faust is tenser and more desperate. I have not quite digested the 3rd. That Caroline Widmann recording of same is tempting, but I just haven't got the lolly for yet another version right now.

[Mandryka]

The three string quartets op. 41 are must haves. They are top Schumann, as are the two violin sonatas. The piano trios are great, too. I like the 5 Stücke im Volkston a lot too. Personally I have heard the piano quintet a little too often.

Actually the third one – the posthumous one – is my favourite: more modern sounding than the other two. And more abstract. And there's a sombreness about some of the music which appeals to me.

Though I quite like Op 121 too.

There's a good record of Op 105 from Virsaladze/Kagan

The piano quartet is more interesting than the quintet  for me – especially because the are some nice recordings. Gould+Juillliards for example. And The Kolisch Quartet.

Seconded.

This quartet is very good. The Schumann dosc has had me strapped to my seat for two days. Their Debussy and Ravel are v. special too. Has anyone here heard their Mozart and Beethoven? I'm feeling tempted.

Mandryka - that's why I am faintly surprised you don't mention the ECM CD with Kashkasian/Levin/Brunner offering that very work . . .

Good dope man. Thanks.

Kurtag is showing himself to be one of the major players of the second half od the last century. I've been enjoying his four handed Bach and Schutz transcriptions a lot recently (there's a concert performance of some of them by Deszo Ranki which is really electric.) And this trio is superb too.

I just listened to this work on Spotify (Michael Collins, Steven Isserlis, Stephen Hough / RCA Red Seal). I agree that it is amazingly charming music! 

Someone kindly gave me the chance to hear Le Sage/Meyer/Tamestit in the Märchenerzählungen. Much better than my Hubeau I think. Le Sage always brings great feeling to the livelier music and so the second movement is really bracing. And the ensemble is not without inwardness when it is needed.

[Herman]

I have a Quatuor Ysaye cd with a Mozart quartet and quintet which I found uncompetitive. Too cerebral.

[kishnevi]

This quartet is very good. The Schumann dosc has had me strapped to my seat for two days. Their Debussy and Ravel are v. special too. Has anyone here heard their Mozart and Beethoven? I'm feeling tempted.

Have this set


Good,  at some points (like the "Hunt" quartet) outstanding, but not necessarily a must-have.   Didn't find them "cerebral"; but perhaps Herman was listening to a different work.

[Herman]

that was 421 and 516 with Hatto Beyerle on the 2nd viola.

The way I listen to the Schumann SQ's often is 41/1: Orlando Qt; 41/2 Koeckert Qt (Orfeo) and 41/3 Hagen Qt.

[mjwal]

Mandryka wrote:

Kurtag is showing himself to be one of the major players of the second half of the last century. I've been enjoying his four handed Bach and Schutz transcriptions a lot recently (there's a concert performance of some of them by Deszo Ranki which is really electric.) And this trio is superb too.

As to Kurtag and his homage to Schumann: there is a 4th String Quartet called "Moments musicaux" (obviously an allusion to Schubert's faulty French) that to my ears has a lot of Schumannesque musing encapsulated in its amazingly concentrated short movements (the last of which is an homage to Janacek). I first heard it in a church played by a French quartet at the Avignon festival abour 3 or 4 years ago; inspiring. - A radio broadcast can be downloaded via a link given here:
http://statework.blogspot.com/2009/01/kurtag-random-sampling-of-spare-deep.html

[Mandryka]

I'll just signal a couple of very good recordings.

The Op.105 violin sonata from Wirssaladze and Kagan captures the excitement of a live performance from these two quite well. And the interpretation is my favourite -- especially in the second movement.

The Märchenbilder from  Mikhaïl Rudy  and Gerard  Caussén   is stunning -- really interesting playing in the second movement for example  (again ) Caussé  has at his disposal an extraordinary repertoire of colours on the viola which he uses with excellent judgement, contrasting melodies to great effect.

The recording was made for EMI in 1993 -- but warning -- see posts below.

And on the same disc Mikhaïl Rudy and Michel Portal turn out a deeply felt and refined Stücke im Volkston -- way better IMO than Isserlis's.

[ccar]

The Op.105 violin sonata from Wirssaladze and Kagan captures the excitement of a live performance from these two quite well.

There are so many wonders in Schumann's chamber music.   

 

[kishnevi]

I'll just signal a couple of very good recordings.

The Op.105 violin sonata from Wirssaladze and Kagan captures the excitement of a live performance from these two quite well. And the interpretation is my favourite -- especially in the second movement.

The Märchenbilder from  Mikhaïl Rudy  and Gerard  Caussé is stunning -- really interesting playing in the second movement for example  (again ) Caussé  has at his disposal an extraordinary repertoire of colours on the viola which he uses with excellent judgement, contrasting melodies to great effect.

And on the same disc Mikhaïl Rudy and Michel Portal turn out a deeply felt and refined Stücke im Volkston -- way better IMO than Isserlis's.

Interesting.

I remembered your comments when I saw Every Mistake Imaginable's "anniversary" compilation of the chamber music, which credited among a number of other performers Rudy, Portal, and Caussé and went for it (since I don't have any of the other performances in the set, either).

So what do I discover when I get home and start looking at the tracklistings, and then reference your post ?

Marchenbilder Op. 113
Martha Argerich  Nobuku Imai

5 Stucke in Volkston Op. 102
Mikhail Rudy Boris Pergamenschikow

Well, the last one is half right at least.

And where do Messrs. Rudy, Causse et Portal combine in this set?  For the Marchenerzahlungen and 3 Romanzen Op. 94. Nichts mehr.

Many of the performances are apparently drawn from the CD ccar showed in the post just before this one of mine: the Piano Quartet, the Andante and Variations, the Fantasiestucke Op. 73, the Adagio and Allegro Op. 70, the aforementioned Marchenbilder, and the Violin Sonata No. 2 (the only Violin Sonata they include in the set)--in fact, it looks like everything on there except the Piano Quintet.

[Scarpia]

I have a Quatuor Ysaye cd with a Mozart quartet and quintet which I found uncompetitive. Too cerebral.

Just about everything I have heard from the Quatuor Ysaye has left me unimpressed, notably their Mendelssohn and Mozart recordings. 

[Mandryka]

Interesting.

I remembered your comments when I saw Every Mistake Imaginable's "anniversary" compilation of the chamber music, which credited among a number of other performers Rudy, Portal, and Caussé and went for it (since I don't have any of the other performances in the set, either).

So what do I discover when I get home and start looking at the tracklistings, and then reference your post ?

Marchenbilder Op. 113
Martha Argerich  Nobuku Imai

5 Stucke in Volkston Op. 102
Mikhail Rudy Boris Pergamenschikow

Well, the last one is half right at least.

And where do Messrs. Rudy, Causse et Portal combine in this set?  For the Marchenerzahlungen and 3 Romanzen Op. 94. Nichts mehr.

Many of the performances are apparently drawn from the CD ccar showed in the post just before this one of mine: the Piano Quartet, the Andante and Variations, the Fantasiestucke Op. 73, the Adagio and Allegro Op. 70, the aforementioned Marchenbilder, and the Violin Sonata No. 2 (the only Violin Sonata they include in the set)--in fact, it looks like everything on there except the Piano Quintet.

Oh dear.

The CD I have is not the image I put in the post -- I just assumed (wrongly) that it was the same material. I couldn't find an image of my CD. I'll edit out the picture, just to stop people making mistakes.

So the CD I love so much is CDC 7 54824 2, recorded in Paris in 1993. This one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schumann-Chamber-Works-Boris-Pergamenschikov/dp/B000025HO3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1278231135&sr=1-1

This contains, amongst other things, a fantastic Marchenbilder with Rudy and Caussé.

Thanks for posting.

[Mandryka]

Just about everything I have heard from the Quatuor Ysaye has left me unimpressed, notably their Mendelssohn and Mozart recordings.

Do you not like their Fauré, Debussy, Ravel and Schumann? Maybe you haven't heard those CDs.

I don't want to put you on the spot, but if you do know them  can you say why you are unimpressed?

[kishnevi]

Oh dear.

The CD I have is not the image I put in the post -- I just assumed (wrongly) that it was the same material. I couldn't find an image of my CD. I'll edit out the picture, just to stop people making mistakes.

So the CD I love so much is CDC 7 54824 2, recorded in Paris in 1993. This one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schumann-Chamber-Works-Boris-Pergamenschikov/dp/B000025HO3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1278231135&sr=1-1

This contains, amongst other things, a fantastic Marchenbilder with Rudy and Caussé.

Thanks for posting.

Then the Rudy/Causse/Portal/Pergamenschikov  on the EMI compilation come from that recording.  But not the Marchenbilder.  The one in the compilation is Argerich/Imai.   Have you heard that one? And if so, how does it compare to the Rudy/Causse performance..

[Scarpia]

Do you not like their Fauré, Debussy, Ravel and Schumann? Maybe you haven't heard those CDs.

I don't want to put you on the spot, but if you do know them  can you say why you are unimpressed?

It was the Mendelssohn and Mozart that turned me off, due to what I felt was a lack of precision or intensity in their playing.  I have their recordings of the Faure Piano Quartets and Quintets as well, but I always listen to other recordings when I want to hear that music and don't have any strong impression of their performances there.