Robert Schumann

“…Carolin Widmann and Dénes Várjon's imaginative wide-ranging variations of tone colour unlock the music's romantic, atmospheric potential, and their command of genuine rubato - passionate, unimpeded forward motion followed by lingering backward glances - gives the sonatas an expressive flexibility that's surely authentic.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2008

“…riveting performances from Carolin Widmann and Dénes Várjon. In their skilled hands the nervous pulsating of the First Sonata's opening phrases is resolved in a magical glow of C major… that momentarily resolves the underlying despair of the music which surrounds it. ...in the glorious D minor Second Sonata. Widmann's beguiling subtlety of phrasing, tonal colour and dynamic shading proves a revelation. She lives through each and every note, weaving a spellbinding emotional narrative that captivates throughout. Indisputably, one of the all-time great Schumann recordings.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2009 *****

“Schumann's violin-and-piano sonatas have never become favourite staples of the repertoire.
Full textures, with the violin mainly confined to its middle and lower registers, often continue uninterrupted for many bars, and a somewhat grey, monotonous effect can be compounded by the composer's obsessive repetition of certain rhythms and motifs. But is this a fair description? You wouldn't think so after hearing Carolin Widmann and Dénes Várjon; their imaginative, wide-ranging variations of tone colour unlock the music's romantic, atmospheric potential, and their command of genuine rubato – passionate, unimpeded forward motion followed by lingering backward glances – gives the sonatas an expressive flexibility that's surely authentic.
'With sorrowful expression', writes Schumann at the start of the First Sonata, and the surges of painful emotion in this performance, while sounding quite spontaneous, are rigorously based on the printed expression marks. Similarly, the gripping account of the Second Sonata's slow introduction starts from meticulous observance of Schumann's dynamics, slurs and staccatos, adding to this an entirely convincing rhythmic freedom. The opening page of this sonata's third movement, which creates a remote, almost chilling effect, isn't quite so convincing.
Back in 1952, George Enescu, playing with Celiny Chailley-Richez (Opus Kura), gen- tly arpeggiated his plucked chords and, on taking up the bow, found a beautifully intimate, confiding tone – this mood may well be closer to what Schumann intended. Overall, however, Várjon and Widmann are entirely persuasive.
Whether or not you know the music well, you'll be enthralled and delighted.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“These constantly sharp-witted performances with Denes Varjon are now among the best available on disc...Every bar in both of [the first two sonatas] seems freshly moulded in their performances, as if Schumann had rolled back the years to the surging lyricism of two decades before.” The Guardian, 26th September 2008 ****

“most impressive when considered in detail against other versions of these much-recorded works. Eschenbach's accompaniments are superb, consistently imaginative.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ***

“This live recital has the added frisson of being played in Nijmegen, just a few miles from the German border, a country in which Rubinstein vowed never to play again after the horrors of the Nazi regime. Chris de Souza's excellent booklet reveals that Rubinstein was unusually nervous on the occasion, having decided to play to an audience which he knew might include former Nazis. So, although this is a mere snapshot of a 76-year-old legend, it is a vividly coloured one.
His Beethoven is direct and unmannered, a performance which truly inhabits the sonata's subtitle. Its famous presto coda is a real whiteknuckle ride that you feel might hurtle out of control any second (it doesn't). By contrast, the Brahms Intermezzo casts a warm glow over proceedings – magical, understated, inimitable. Carnaval, which follows, was another Rubinstein favourite and though his observation of some dynamics and repeats is cavalier, with playing of such charm and utter conviction it seems invidious to nit-pick. As was said of another pianist, why look for spots on the sun? The Chopin items are imbued with a lifetime's close friendship, and the comparative rarity (for Rubinstein) of Liszt's 12th Hungarian Rhapsody, an account that would turn many pianists half his age green with envy, is the cherry on top.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…although this is a mere snapshot of a 76-year-old legend… it is a vividly coloured one. His Beethoven is direct and unmannered… Brahms Intermezzo casts a warm glow over proceedings… The Chopin items are imbued with a lifetime's close friendship, and the comparative rarity (for Rubinstein) of Liszt's 12th Hungarian Rhapsody, an account that would turn many pianists half his age green with envy, is the cherry on top.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2008

“Right from the first bars of Beethoven's Appassionata, you know you are in the presence of a master in this historic recording, never before released. It dates from a 1963 recital in Nijmegen in Holland. The great pianist refused to step foot in Germany after the war but agreed to play a bus ride from the border, even though he knew former Nazis could be in the audience. Digital technology has brought the old WDR recording to life, transmitting every moment of nervous creativity in a fascinating testimony to a talent that endures beyond the grave.” The Observer, 27th July 2008