Schumann solo piano music

[Mandryka]

I need a lot more solo piano Schumann recordings.
I currently have Andsnes's PS no. 1 & Fantaisie, Pollini's PS no. 1, Perahia's Papillons, and Barto's Geistervariationen.

Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, Études symphoniques, and Carnaval are the ones I'm most interested in - although I'm interested in hearing at least most of his solo piano pieces. I don't care too much for very eccentric performances like the Levy Études, and I'd prefer modern sound (certainly later than 50s, preferably more recent).

A box set (or two) (the EMI 200th year box? Another EMI box, from 2007, Pollini? Endres? Le Sage would be complete, but I have read that the performances aren't anything to write home about), possibly combined with a single CD (or several - Schuch's Kreisleriana, Freire's recent disc, etc?) would be OK. Keeping the total price low would be preferable, though.

Just download the Le Sage. Having said that I think Egorov is not a bad either either. Another one to think about is Anda, there's this CD which collects Carnival and Kreisleriana and the Etudes.

[North Star]

Thanks for the comments!

My favorite one-stop Schumann set had always been the Egorov two-fer but lately it's gone OOP. It's all been absorbed into the Egorov complete box however if that kind of thing appeals.

I certainly wouldn't mind having that set, for the Chopin, Schumann & Debussy.

Have you checked into this one?  I found the performances in this box to range from solid to magnificent.

The magnificent applies to Schmidt-Leonardy in particular.  His contribution to that set is available as an individual item, and if you don't get the set,  get that.

Amazon also lists complete sets from Demus and Ashkenazy;  never heard them, although I'd go for the Demus first.

The EMI anniversary set, while far from complete, is a nice catch all;  beyond that I'd say it's pick and choose from a variety of pianists for individual pieces.

I recall reading here at GMG that the Demus isn't too good.

Although it's been rather a long time since I listened, Klara Wurtz's contributions also struck me as being very good. Jed Distler also likes them.

For me, they were more to the solid end of the spectrum.  Of course, much of her contribution to that box was with pieces that have been recorded by, it seems, almost every pianist who has ever had a microphone plunked down in front of them, and she was therefore competing with several of the greats names in piano playing.

I hadn't looked too closely at this set, certainly an option!

Just download the Le Sage. Having said that I think Egorov is not a bad either either. Another one to think about is Anda, there's this CD which collects Carnival and Kreisleriana and the Etudes.

So you know the Le Sage set, Mandryka? I don't doubt that it's a solid set, but any further comments would be greatly appreciated.
(If I decide to get the Le Sage, I will certainly get the real box, none of that download stuff, especially since it's not even any cheaper)

[Klaze]

For what it's worth, Anda is my go-to pianist for Schumann. The Carnaval/Kreisleriana/Etudes Symphoniques collections on Testament (or Archipel..) as well as on the Brilliant Classics 4CD box are great. There is a very nice Davidsbuendlertanze on AURA/Ermitage.

[Mandryka]

So you know the Le Sage set, Mandryka? I don't doubt that it's a solid set, but any further comments would be greatly appreciated.
(If I decide to get the Le Sage, I will certainly get the real box, none of that download stuff, especially since it's not even any cheaper)

I think it's solid, that's all. I think he's better in the Florestan music. I enjoyed his first recordings for EMI most, especially the op 12. These were later incorprated into the Schumann project.

[North Star]

I think it's solid, that's all. I think he's better in the Florestan music. I enjoyed his first recordings for EMI most, especially the op 12. These were later incorprated into the Schumann project.

OK, thanks.
Well, I just ordered the Le Sage box. 
I can always get other recordings later 

[Mandryka]

Arrau plays op 11 live in 1969

http://www.youtube.com/v/XOiF0KTCI6Y

This is so different from any op 11 I've heard before that I just don't know what to make of it. I know I don't like it.

[aquablob]

Arrau's Schumann was an acquired taste for me, but I really enjoy it now. In this repertoire he's in some respects the polar opposite of Pollini, whose Schumann I likewise wouldn't want to be without.

Rubinstein and Cziffra are other favorites. Hamelin's underrated here, too.

For a box set, though, Arrau's the way to go if you can find it IMO. Ashkenazy and Demus are fine and worth hearing, but if you can get past Arrau's slowness, there's much to admire in his thoughtful playing and gorgeous tone.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

...but if you can get past Arrau's slowness, there's much to admire in his thoughtful playing and gorgeous tone.

The Raim set I mentioned a few pages back has something of that slowness but it only takes a couple minutes before aurally you've come to terms with her conception and the rest of each respective work literally glows.

She's aided by a huge technique and her dynamics are spread out like the Great Basin. It's hard to even think of another pianist with such a wide palette, much less another female pianist.   

And I can't think of another record label more appropriate for her than Connoisseur Society, since from the sound of it to capture her enormous range it'd take practically a magician. No doubt E. Alan Silver is just the man.




[asin]B0011NVB9E[/asin]

[George]

Hey Don,

Mama mia!! That amazon editorial review is by far the longest I have ever seen!!

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Hey Don,

Hi, George.

Mama mia!! That amazon editorial review is by far the longest I have ever seen!!

Whoa! I didn't even notice!

Totally unsung, totally under the radar, maximum obscurity...yet she gets a book for an editorial. Loaded with compliments, too. I have to say I agree with them.

[Mandryka]

Arrau's Schumann was an acquired taste for me, but I really enjoy it now. In this repertoire he's in some respects the polar opposite of Pollini, whose Schumann I likewise wouldn't want to be without.

Rubinstein and Cziffra are other favorites. Hamelin's underrated here, too.

For a box set, though, Arrau's the way to go if you can find it IMO. Ashkenazy and Demus are fine and worth hearing, but if you can get past Arrau's slowness, there's much to admire in his thoughtful playing and gorgeous tone.

Are the comments about Arrau a response to that op 11 on youtube I posted? Anyway I'm not sure if you're saying that in that performance there's "much to admire." If so, what? I don't have a problem with the slowness, it's his conception of the music that I find  a bit difficult. In the live op 11, it's as if he plays it wanting to highlight classical values like balance, elegance.

His studio version of op 11 is smilar, though I think I prefer the live one slightly.

Generally there are one or two wonderful Arrau Schumann recordings, but maybe not in the studio recordings he made for Philips. Having said that, the Philips DBT, which he was proud of, is certainly worth catching even if it is, in my opinion, ultimately unsatisfactory.

There's a fine live Fantasie on Aura, a great Symphonic Etudes live from Prague, and an interesting early kreiseriana, a studio recording.

Has anyone heard this?

[Octave]

I recall reading here at GMG that the Demus isn't too good.

FWIW, Gordo called the Demus set "mandatory" early this year; Sammy's response was negative mainly about the sound of the recording:

I'm a little less enthusiastic.  Although I do consider the performances close to top-flight, the sound bothers me some.  It's a boxed-in sound where the top notes don't ring out and bass notes/chords are rather murky.

(Gordo's post is just above Sammy's.)

I do not yet know the Demus at all.  I did get the Le Sage set some time back and I have really enjoyed it. 
I've also recently enjoyed Michael Endres' 3cd collection on Oehms (though there is no CARNAVAL in it), which I got for Endres and also to have another complete Album für die Jugend.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

A thing like that really needs to be on youtube or spotify. Noone's going to buy the CD sight unseen,  even I wouldn't do it.

Yeah, I've looked in vain for Raim's Schumann on Youtube. Unfortunately obscurity comes with the territory for many of the tiny labels. Being an advocate is the only way to get the word out.

But I picked up this set after listening to the samples on Connoisseur Society's website. Took a gamble and it surely paid off.

[North Star]

FWIW, Gordo called the Demus set "mandatory" early this year; Sammy's response was negative mainly about the sound of the recording:(Gordo's post is just above Sammy's.)

I do not yet know the Demus at all.  I did get the Le Sage set some time back and I have really enjoyed it. 
I've also recently enjoyed Michael Endres' 3cd collection on Oehms (though there is no CARNAVAL in it), which I got for Endres and also to have another complete Album für die Jugend.

Ah yes, I only remembered that sound quality comment, apparently.
The Endres set looks great indeed.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Yeah, I've looked in vain for Raim's Schumann on Youtube. Unfortunately obscurity comes with the territory for many of the tiny labels. Being an advocate is the only way to get the word out.

But I picked up this set after listening to the samples on Connoisseur Society's website. Took a gamble and it surely paid off.

Hey, what the heck?? Where'd your post go, Mandryka? You and your editing!!!

[Mandryka]

Hey, what the heck?? Where'd your post go, Mandryka? You and your editing!!!

You're just too quick

[aquablob]

Mandryka:

No, my comments about Arrau weren't about the video you posted, and I'll also agree that his studio recording of Op. 11 isn't his best Schumann.

I was simply stating my appreciation for Arrau's Schumann in general. I've heard most of his studio recordings and also his live Symphonic Etudes. In my opinion he's best with the sets of miniatures like Carnaval, DBT, Waldszenen, and Kreisleriana—pieces that frequently demand stark contrasts in mood. Here and there I wish Arrau would pick up the pace, but the mercuriality of Schumann's piano music has just as much to do with articulation and phrasing as it does with tempo, and Arrau (even in his old age) was a master of articulation and phrasing.

One of my favorite moments in Arrau's Schumann comes in Carnaval at the very end of "Paganini," just before the "Valse allemande" returns. The pounded-out chords give way suddenly to a sustained pianissimo chord, and Arrau achieves this in such a way that you don't even hear the pianissimo chord articulated—instead, you just hear the loud chords disappear leaving the soft sustained notes ringing out as if from nowhere. It's magic. Not sure how else to describe this, but I've heard Arrau do something similar in other places, too. There's so much shading and subtlety in his playing!

Oh, and I also like his Fantasy Op. 17. The opening measures alone are worth hearing for the warm color and balance of voicing. Just remarkable. One must ignore his too-audible breathing, as is often the case.

[aquablob]

Ah, that effect I was talking about at the end of "Paganini"—Arrau actually does something similar in the first movement of the Fantasy, a little before the 9-minute mark. It's definitely more striking at the end of "Paganini," but still, this is the kind of thing I love about Arrau's playing.

[aquablob]

Also, I recommend listening to the last minute of Arrau's Papillons with the volume turned way up. I'm not sure I've ever heard a pianist make better use of the instrument's resonant frequencies.

*end Arrau/Schumann rant*

[George]

Universal really needs to reissue that Philips Schumann Arrau set!!