Word: schumann
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...latest from a young man who is without question Russia's most exciting pianist, this recital disc pairs two romantic masterpieces, the Bach-Busoni Chaconne and Schumann's Kreisleriana, plus a pair of shorter pieces by Beethoven (Rondo for Piano in G Major is one). These spectacular performances--big-boned and expansive, yet piercingly direct whenever they need to be--rank among the very best on record. Not since Vladimir Horowitz was in his absolute prime have we been privy to classical piano playing quite as bold, quite as ambitious as this...
...Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus 54 opened the evening with bright and pleasant fervor. According to the program notes, this particular concer-to--like a good deal of his other pieces--was composed for Schumann's wife Clara, who performed as the soloist during its premeire on Dec. 4, 1845. Upon hearing the concerto, one cannot help but dream about what a wonderful and passionate performance the premiere must have been. One can hear Schumann's adoration for Clara etched into every movent, from the sparkling and brilliant "Allegro affettuoso" to the slower, sweeter "Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso...
...some of the most prestigious music festivals in the world. Watching the music fluidly spill out of his hands, notes tumbling around the stage like small explosions of glitter, it becomes easy to understand how his success has reached the point that it has. The sprightly romance of Schumann's piece came to vivacious, yet intricately beautiful life under Andsnes' care. With the rest of the orchestra perfectly accompanying but never overshadowing him, the Norwegian pianist played the Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus 54 with the enchanting energy that Schumann must have intended the piece to be performed with...
...pleasure of Great Pianists is in the listening, however, not in the debate over inclusiveness. All the significant performances of the century are here: Artur Schnabel's Beethoven, Wilhelm Kempff's Schumann, Sviatoslav Richter's Prokofiev, Walter Gieseking's Debussy. But Deacon was too knowledgeable, and too wily, to select only the gems that every piano lover may already have. More than a quarter of the music in the collection was previously unavailable on CD, and some pieces, such as Clifford Curzon playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27, have never before been released commercially in any format. Deacon scoured...
There are previous period recordings of Schumann's symphonies (notably a superb 1994 set by Roy Goodman and the Hanover Band on RCA), but these performances are the most brilliant, penetrating and communicative. They may even force Grove, in the new edition now being prepared, to reverse its judgment...