Schumann's Shoebox

[Franco]

Hyperion has a Schumann lieder cycle which is on the same level of excellence as the Schubert set.  I have about 7 or 8 of the Schumann CDs, and am not sure how many there are, but I would assume it to be complete, so you can find all those songs in nice recordings by looking there.

[Orpheus]

Happy, happy, happy 200th birthday, dear Robert!





Many thanks for your heavenly and passionate music!

[George]

Indeed. Happy birthday Florestan, and Eusebius! 

[Florestan]

Indeed. Happy birthday Florestan, and Eusebius! 

A (rather) belated but (very) heartfelt thanks, dear friend! 

[Bogey]

Started a comparison of Schumann's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 54 for ukrneal.  Gave these two a listen so far:



Here, the orchestra dominates, or at its most distant point, stays blended with the Zimerman.  As about as smooth and rich as sound as one would want, IMO.  Sometimes a bit too thick with the sound itself, but not bad for a time to time listen.



Walter Gieseking absolutely sparkles here and his performance is energetic when the moment is right and has a masterful approach of how hard to hit the keys througout which makes this a very memorable performance.  The BPO under Furtwängler is not to be missed here either.  However, the historical sound may not be for all.

Tomorrow I will take a listen to:

[mc ukrneal]

Started a comparison of Schumann's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 54 for ukrneal.  Gave these two a listen so far:



Here, the orchestra dominates, or at its most distant point, stays blended with the Zimerman.  As about as smooth and rich as sound as one would want, IMO.  Sometimes a bit too thick with the sound itself, but not bad for a time to time listen.



Walter Gieseking absolutely sparkles here and his performance is energetic when the moment is right and has a masterful approach of how hard to hit the keys througout which makes this a very memorable performance.  The BPO under Furtwängler is not to be missed here either.  However, the historical sound may not be for all.

Tomorrow I will take a listen to:

Interesting. I only have the Andsnes recording (BPO here too with Jansons), but Zimerman interests me in several recordings of the majors (including Chopin and Liszt as well). The idea of 'too thick' concerns me in Schumann as he has a tendency towards this naturally, but wasn't sure if I was over-interpreting your words. What did you think of Zimerman's playing? I also found it interesting that with the Karajan recording you focused on the orchestra and overall sound more, but on the soloist more with Furtwangler. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it.  Can't wait to hear what you think of Perahia/Abbado/BPO, which should be a good match (one would think).

[Bogey]

Here are the four I have listed in my order of favorite to least with respect to perfomances and some sound notes included:


Walter Gieseking is the most memorable of these four performances IMO.  His ability, as stated above, to strike the keys with force and delicacy is wonderful. Furtwängler drives the BPO at a fire pace at the outset and their presence is felt wholeheartedly while not diminishing Gieseking's performance.


This was almost my number one choice, as Lipatti's rendering is also amazing.....however, his touch I believe is hampered by the folks at EMI who believe that too much noise reduction for historical recordings is a good thing.  Would love to hear this if Mark Obert-Thorn got a hold of it.  However, for less than $3 used on Amazon, snatch one up.


Enjoyed this one less and less after listening to the other two over the past couple days.  If recommending a non-historical recording unlike the above two, I would have to dig elsewhere than in my collection.


Blah.  Poor sound and less than a memorable performance.  I enjoyed this recording at some point, but compared to the first two listed it is like drinking flat 7-Up.

Hope this helped,  ukrneal.  It sure was fun revisiting this piece!

[Wanderer]

The Zimerman/Karajan performance I rate very low. Too self-indulgent, faux-luxuriant, languid to the point of distorting the melodic flow (Zimerman's faults); and Karajan conducting beautifully, but as if it were some slow Wagnerian overture. Still bearably passable, if one is in the right mood, but hardly a good rendition. The Grieg on the same disc is much worse. Caveat emptor!

[mc ukrneal]

Here are the four I have listed in my order of favorite to least with respect to perfomances and some sound notes included:


Walter Gieseking is the most memorable of these four performances IMO.  His ability, as stated above, to strike the keys with force and delicacy is wonderful. Furtwängler drives the BPO at a fire pace at the outset and their presence is felt wholeheartedly while not diminishing Gieseking's performance.


This was almost my number one choice, as Lipatti's rendering is also amazing.....however, his touch I believe is hampered by the folks at EMI who believe that too much noise reduction for historical recordings is a good thing.  Would love to hear this if Mark Obert-Thorn got a hold of it.  However, for less than $3 used on Amazon, snatch one up.


Enjoyed this one less and less after listening to the other two over the past couple days.  If recommending a non-historical recording unlike the above two, I would have to dig elsewhere than in my collection.


Blah.  Poor sound and less than a memorable performance.  I enjoyed this recording at some point, but compared to the first two listed it is like drinking flat 7-Up.

Hope this helped,  ukrneal.  It sure was fun revisiting this piece!

Thanks for that! I like doing similar comparisons. Sometimes knowing what not to buy is even more important than choosing the 'right' one!

[Bogey]

The Zimerman/Karajan performance I rate very low. Too self-indulgent, faux-luxuriant, languid to the point of distorting the melodic flow (Zimerman's faults); and Karajan conducting beautifully, but as if it were some slow Wagnerian overture. Still bearably passable, if one is in the right mood, but hardly a good rendition. The Grieg on the same disc is much worse. Caveat emptor!

Good points on the Schumann.  The trap for many is if this is the first one they buy they settle in thinking that this is how it "should" sound.  Only after other comparisons will they find out "what" can be done with this piece to make it truly a top-notch composition.

[Bogey]

Been letting this spin in the car for the past few days....Harnoncourt is a favorite at this end.

[Scarpia]

Been letting this spin in the car for the past few days....Harnoncourt is a favorite at this end.

I found Harnoncourt's cycle spectacular in parts, but a bit uneven.  One I would never want to do without.

[Leon]

Following on some recent posts, a recording of the Piano Concerto Opus 54 with Argerich and Harnoncourt:



Coupled with the VC by Kremer - a disc I don't listen to nearly enough.

[Bogey]

Following on some recent posts, a recording of the Piano Concerto Opus 54 with Argerich and Harnoncourt:



Coupled with the VC by Kremer - a disc I don't listen to nearly enough.

I was just going to ask for recs about the PC and do enjoy Argerich coupled with probably my favorite, or at least "go to" conductor.  I will put it on my wish-list.

[jlaurson]

Schumann & the Pedal Piano

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2010/11/dip-your-ears-no-106.html

Schumann's works for organ (or rather the pedal piano) were recently
re-released on Audite in a recording written about over at WETA
(Schumann From Many Angles (Pedal Piano / Organ)). Now Berlin
Classics has released a beautifully produced new disc with Mario
Hospach-Martini who is, like Andreas Rothkopf on the Audite recording,
also playing a historic Walcker organ, but the 1888 instrument in the
Stadtkirche in Winterthur, not the slightly earlier instrument in Hoffen-
heim. No one suggests that two recordings of these works are
necessary (though the beauty of them, also touched upon in "Dip Your
Ears, No. 101") makes listening to them a very deserving affair. This
new recording gets mention because I am surprised just how much
more enjoyment I derive from it...

[Lethevich]

How many movements - if any - does the Humoreske have? I've seen it presented in 1, 4, 5 and 6 sections across various recordings.

Also: BUMP

[PaulSC]

The ambiguities are impossible to resolve. In the ed. by C. Schumann, there are four sections demarcated by "final" barlines. But there are many additional sections denoted by lighter double barlines, and some of these sections involve marked changes of character (and tempo and key) without unifying reprises. Additionally, a few of the subsections are given centered titles; these are the most likely spots to be treated as additional distinct movements; but it's all open to interpretation.

[Lethevich]

Eek, thanks for the clarification. I guess I'll leave each division sans numeral.

[PaulSC]

Well my reply was mostly from memory -- I played the piece when much younger. Having just perused the score again, I feel I may have overstated the "problem." There's only one spot where a title follows a light double barline, at the head of the concluding section, "Zum Beschluss." (Does that translate loosely to "in conclusion"?)

I'm guessing your 4-track recording(s) look like this, consistent with the final barlines:
   
1. Einfach — Sehr rasch und leicht — Wie im Anfang
2. Hastig — Nach und nach immer lebhafter und stärker — Adagio
3. Einfach und zart — Intermezzo
4. Innig — Sehr lebhaft — Mit einigem Pomp — Zum Beschluss

5-track recordings probably split off the Zum Beschluss,* and 6-track recordings make an additional break who-knows-where.

* EDIT: It's not that simple, e.g. Kuerti's five tracks are:
1. Einfach; Sehr Rasch Und Leicht
2. Hastig
3. Einfach Und Zart; Intermezzo
4. Innig
5. Sehr Lebhaft; Mit Einigen Pomp; Zum Beschluss; Allegro

[mc ukrneal]

Well my reply was mostly from memory -- I played the piece when much younger. Having just perused the score again, I feel I may have overstated the "problem." There's only one spot where a title follows a light double barline, at the head of the concluding section, "Zum Beschluss." (Does that translate loosely to "in conclusion"?)

I'm guessing your 4-track recording(s) look like this, consistent with the final barlines:
   
1. Einfach — Sehr rasch und leicht — Wie im Anfang
2. Hastig — Nach und nach immer lebhafter und stärker — Adagio
3. Einfach und zart — Intermezzo
4. Innig — Sehr lebhaft — Mit einigem Pomp — Zum Beschluss

5-track recordings probably split off the Zum Beschluss,* and 6-track recordings make an additional break who-knows-where.

* EDIT: It's not that simple, e.g. Kuerti's five tracks are:
1. Einfach; Sehr Rasch Und Leicht
2. Hastig
3. Einfach Und Zart; Intermezzo
4. Innig
5. Sehr Lebhaft; Mit Einigen Pomp; Zum Beschluss; Allegro

In the six track, you get Sehr Lebhaft and Zum Beschluss separated.