Schumann: Piano Concerto Op 54 / Piano Trio No. 2 Op. 80
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ROBERT SCHUMANN
Schumann: Piano Concerto Op 54 / Piano Trio No. 2 Op. 80
Alexander Melnikov (fortepiano) / Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado, with Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello) & Isabelle Faust (violin)
[ Harmonia Mundi CD + DVD / 2 CD/DVD ]
Release Date: Thursday 20 August 2015
This second volume of the complete recording of the concertos and trios of Schumann shows just how badly we needed an interpretation that respects the subtleties and the transparency of Schumann's writing. Here is a different stylistic approach to one of the finest concertos in the repertoire, which will undoubtedly open the way to the rediscovery of music as poetic as it is moving. The final installment will be of the Cello Concerto and Piano Trio No. 1 with Jean-Guihen Queyras.
"The idea for this CD project arose during a tour on which we performed Robert Schumann's Trio Op.80. As passionate admirers of the composer, we conceived the desire to place his works for piano, violin and cello in a broader context and to illuminate them mutually in order to allow listeners to gain a deeper understanding of his music. We soon agreed to play the pieces for this recording on a historical piano and stringed instruments with gut strings, using orchestral forces to match. Thanks to this, we expected our playing to be better balanced, better articulated, and more open-minded. Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester sprang spontaneously to mind as the ideal partners for a project of this kind. And indeed they took up our idea enthusiastically and were keen and irreplaceable fellow-conspirators in the world of Schumann. Our shared journey into the magical world of this incomparable composer will remain with us as an exceptionally intense, happy and fulfilling experience." Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Jean-Guihen Queyras
DVD: The Piano Concerto filmed at Berliner Philharmonie
"Melnikov is a steely player with plenty of ideas and charisma, but even in the finessed company of the Freiburg Baroque and conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, his bracing account of the Piano Concerto is hard to love... All affectations evaporate in the Trio, though, where Faust's sound is so silvery and expressive, so simultaneously commanding and questioning, that she risks blowing the rest of the disc out of the water." (Guardian)
"The 1837 Erard that Melnikov uses, plus the period-instrument Freiburg band, brings a new and revealing clarity to Schumann's concerto, underlining the fantasy element in the marvellous opening movement...The performance of the rarely heard F major trio is first-rate." (Sunday Times)
'[T]he use of an early 19th-century fortepiano, here a Streicher of 1847, brings textural clairty, enhanced by the exceptionally subtle and sensitive dialogue between the two superb string players.' (BBC Music)
"Melnikov is able to ripple along as part of an ensemble when providing accompaniment to orchestral lines, rather than dominating as a Steinway might, although the instrument can still roar when called upon to do so…repeated listening has persuaded me that this is a valid alternative to the glittering virtuosity displayed by pianists from Lipatti to Andsnes and beyond." (Gramophone Editor's Choice Sept 2015)
"I was not sure how a CD juxtaposing an orchestral work with a chamber piece would work, but it does. The sound worlds are so different, and yet the calibre of performance is maintained. It is impossible (for me) to fault a splendid achievement." (EarlyMusicReview)
Tracks:
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80
