Robert Schumann

The peerless Takács Quartet, recently nominated for a Gramophone award for their second disc of Brahms’s string quartets, continue their fêted exploration of the Romantic chamber music tradition with this disc of Schumann.

The Piano Quintet in E flat major is by far Schumann’s most popular chamber work and one of the most beloved works in the genre. Schumann was the first romantic composer to pair the piano with the string quartet. It was written during the composer’s ‘chamber music year’ (1842) when, ‘in the first happiness of reunion with the piano, his creative imagination took on a new lease of life’ (Joan Chisell, Robert Schumann). Schumann had been studying the string quartets of Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn, and the String Quartet in A major Op 41 No 3 demonstrates these influences, but is written in a characteristic musical language and contains many highly original strokes, particularly the casting of the Scherzo as a set of variations.

The Takács Quartet are joined by Marc-André Hamelin in an invigorating partnership that has already been widely acclaimed on the concert platform.

To the present-day listener one of the most notable aspects of European concert music in the 19th century is the degree to which it became far less the preserve of the Church and the ruling classes. Many composers working in the early years of the century, Beethoven among them, were, to a lesser or greater extent, still working as employees of the Church or the wealthy aristocratic classes. This system of patronage was soon to break down and the role of the composer took on a more professional and academic character. The new-found freedom, and the advent of Romanticism in the arts as a whole, revitalised music throughout Europe; composers began to experiment with new forms, making their music more personal and innovative. This change of musical climate is clearly illustrated in this 17-CD set made up of works from most of the great composers of the time.

Swiss pianist Andrea Kauten’s second recording for Sony Classical is of works by Schumann, whose bicentenary will be celebrated in 2010. It includes the Sonata No.3 which Schumann wrote for his wife, Clara.

Just 10 months ago we released the first volume in the new Martha Argerich Collection (the solo recodings). Over 10,000 boxes of the 8-CD set have been sold since then.

Here now is Volume 2 – the Concerto Recordings, on 7 CDs, comprising all of her concerto recordings with Deutsche Grammophon, from her scintillating début playing Prokofiev and Ravel under Claudio Abbado in 1967 to her most recent collaboration with the same conductor in 2004. In between come classic recordings of Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven with Charles Dutoit, Mstislav Rostropovich and Giuseppe Sinopoli, as well as a memorable collaboration with Gidon Kremer (in Mendelssohn) and dazzling virtuosity in Haydn and Shostakovich.

The cover is still more alluring, the contents equally fascinating, and the packaging just as attractive – with original LP-cover artwork, new liner notes (by Jed Distler again) and rare photos. The recordings have been newly mastered for this release.

This box will be followed up by one more to include Martha Argerich’s complete Chamber Ensemble recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (2010).