Schumann: Album for the Young, Op. 68 (Album für die Jugend)

This is the second hybrid SACD of music by Robert Schumann from the highly talented young pianist Alessandra Ammara, and is devoted to the "Album for the Young" of 1848. The first, which came out last year and featured Carnaval and Davidsblündertänzes, was very well received by the press. MusicWeb International referred to the performance as “Eternally Fascinating and really rather special.”

Alessandra Ammara has drawn the attention of the musical world from a young age winning awards in major international piano competitions such as the "J. Iturbi" in Valencia and the "Van Cliburn" in Fort Worth. Her concert schedule is continuously growing, and she performs throughout Europe and America. Ammara's discography includes a recording for Canadian label Arktos of Debussy, Scriabin and Chopin and a contribution to the complete Chopin edition produced by Brilliant Classics. Since 2008 Alessandra has recorded for the German label Arts. Her first Arts CD, featuring Chopin's Four Ballades and other pieces, was released in autumn 2008, and was followed last year by the world premiere recording of Giacinto Scelsi's Preludes.

The Album for the Youth is a collection of pieces that Robert Schumann published in 1848 under the title Christmas Album. The origin of the work is closely linked to the composer’s family life and the deep love he felt for his children. In writing these pieces Schumann has therefore tried to enter the imagination of a child, and see the world through the eyes and innocence of childhood.

In the year of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann, the internationally renowned Norwegian pianist Liv Glaser pays her own tribute in which she performs music from two of the composer’s most endearing piano sets, the ‘Kinderszenen’ (Scenes from Childhood) and ‘Album for the Young’. The recording was made using her 1830 Hafner fortepiano.

Celebrating her 75th birthday this year, as well as 50 years since her debut concert, Liv Glaser continues her musical endeavours with the same strength as ever. Some 20 years ago she started studies of original instruments and performance practice with Malcolm Bilson. The result has been several critically acclaimed recordings of such composers as Mozart, Clementi, Schubert and Grieg. As a little girl in a family of professional musicians, Liv Glaser came to know and love Schumann’s work at an early age. Many of the pieces in “Album for the Young” Schumann wrote for his eldest daughter’s seventh birthday. Written to be played by children, each of the small pieces tells its own little story.

After receiving his beloved Clara’s enthusiastic reaction to Kinderszenen, Schumann wrote back: ‘What I in all modesty have invented, maybe one day will become our reality’. These words reveal that Schumann not only looked upon this music as a recollection of childhood, but perhaps to an even greater extent as a dream of their life together in the future, a dream which came true when Robert and Clara married in 1840, the year after the publication of Kinderszenen.

For Robert Schumann 'childhood' is inspired by his love for Clara, younger by almost ten years, for whom he composed the major part of his piano works, amongst them Kinderszenen, two Albums fur die Jugend, the Vierhandige Klavier-Stucke fur kleine und große kinder, a Kinderball and Klavier Sonaten für die Jugend. The 7th volume of Eric le Sage's complete Schumann: a set of rare quality, not to be missed, graciously assisted by Denis Pascal & Frank Braley, both Romantic piano specialists.

This fine collection has a diverse range of well know piano repertoire from Bach to Gershwin and illustrates Weissenberg’s brilliance and his exciting lyrical playing. Including both orchestral and solo piano works this collection offers a magnificent range of repertoire for the piano enthusiast.

Weissenberg is critically acclaimed for his interpretations of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.1 and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No.2 both of which are included in this set.

A pianist of virtuoso technique, with wide repertory but a particular interest in the Romantic period (especially the music of Chopin and Schumann), he can give in performance and recordings the impression of a forceful flamboyance of style.

Also of key interest to any fan of Weissenberg’s recordings is a fine disc of his concert encores. This delightful collection includes magnificent interpretations of such well-known piano repertoire as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Liszt’s Liebestraum and Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# minor.