Schumann: Märchenbilder (4), Op. 113 (Fairy Tale Pictures)

Among Schumann’s inspired late chamber works is a collection of music for more unusual instruments, composed in a concentrated flurry of creativity between 1849 and 1853 and written specifically for particular players, and it is to these exquisite short works that the world-famous Nash Ensemble turns its impeccable collective musicianship.

While Schumann modelled his music specifically to the timbres of the instruments he wrote for—piano, violin, horn, clarinet and oboe—he also arranged these pieces for alternative instruments with an eye to maximizing sales. Here, however, the soloists from The Nash Ensemble present the works in their original scoring in what are bound to be definitive performances—the delicious Fantasiestücke for clarinet, and the fiery and lyrical Märchenbilder, which feature star British viola player Lawrence Power. Other delights include the Adagio and Allegro for horn, a brilliant showpiece, the Violin Sonata No 1, Drei Romanzen for oboe and piano and the Märchenerzählungen for clarinet, viola and piano.

Despite his love of the cello’s rich sonority and immense lyrical expressivity, Robert Schumann composed few works for that instrument, a situation frequently rectified, as here, by effective arrangements. Less well known, yet among her most successful compositions, are Clara Schumann’s exquisite Romances. A pupil of Rostropovich and winner of the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Third Tchaikovsky InternationalCompetition, Karine Georgian enjoys an international career as a performer and teacher. Dutch pianist Jan Willem Nelleke’s exceptional qualities as a duo partner have been widely recognised. “Everything Georgian plays is presented with the most succulent, glowing tone, the phrasing boundlessly ample.” Financial Times

Schumann’s treatment of the cello opens up a special dimension. Because Schumann was originally a pianist and composed for the instrument he is usually seen in the light of that instrument. In fact, he also played the cello and so was familiar with the instrument’s technique and character. He even fell back on the cello when his hopes of becoming the Paganini of the piano were dashed as a young man.

This collection provides a complete account of Robert Schumann’s works for viola and piano. Schumann was a real innovator, who would often explore new instrumental combinations, sometimes bringing neglected or forgotten instruments back into the limelight. The works on this recording show just how many different moods the composer could evoke using the unusual combination of viola and piano, from the changeable nature of the Fantasiestücke Op.73 and the array of emotions portrayed in the Märchenbilder Op.113 to the passion of the Adagio and Allegro Op.70 and finally the intricacies of the Märchenerzählungen Op.132, with a little help from the clarinet.

The successful partnership of violist Lorenzo Falconi and pianist Sara Bacchini has been described by acclaimed performer, Pier Narciso Masi, as ‘a real Duo, in the most complete sense of the word. Their profound understanding of chamber music is supported by considerable talent, sensitivity and personality, and they are great communicators.’ They are joined for the recording by clarinettist Darlo Goracci.

The present recording contrasts two crucial periods in the creative life of Schumann, when the works of his maturity are in dialogue with those of his twilight years, both groups together forming a repertory of chamber music, the conception of which accompanied the composer throughout his career.

Rooted in the intimacy of home performances , these pieces are an exceptional record of the art of transcription in the nineteenth century – an art that is essential not just useful for expanding a repertory (that for clarinet and viola) unjustly shunned by the Romantics.

A “New Formula” for Viola and Orchestra

Throughout its history, the viola has served primarily as an ensemble instrument, with its solo applications largely restricted to recital music like solo sonatas or other works with piano. Mainstream composers through the ages have indeed written fine concertos or other works for viola and orchestra, but they are (for various reasons) quite uncommon compared to concertos featuring more “glamorous” instruments like piano or violin. While some of their creators have also reworked their creations into piano versions, the reverse process – converting original piano parts into orchestral scores – is almost unheard of … until now. In this – violist Roger Myers’ first album on Delos – our artist offers the remarkable fruits of a “new formula” to expand the limited repertoire for viola and orchestra: well-known chamber masterpieces by Robert Schumann (Märchenbilder) and Dmitri Shostakovich (the Sonata for Viola and Piano: his final work) that have been skillfully transformed into impressive and colorful orchestral works. Myers commissioned the third work (Suite for Viola and Orchestra) from composer Michael McLean (who also orchestrated the Schumann) in memory of his mother. The Schumann and the Shostakovich are presented here in world premiere recordings. Myers, a violist of international renown, offers exceptional performances that combine deep feeling, glowing tone and stunning virtuosity. He collaborates here with the legendary London Symphony Orchestra under the sensitive baton of Michael Francis.

Schumann had a very flexible approach to the instrumentation of his chamber works. As demonstrated here, the Adagio and Allegro for horn and fortepiano Op.70 can also performed on the cello or violin. Drei Fantasiestücke Op.73 (also included) can be performed on clarinet, violin or cello. France Springuel and Jan Vermeulen have also taken this flexible approach to Drei Romanzen and Märchenbilder.

Originally published for viola, with violin as an alternative, Schumann’s Märchenbilder Op. 113 of 1852, are part of the group of lyric pieces that he composed in the late 1840’s and early 1850’s, designed as satisfying music for amateurs to perform in domestic settings. That said, the dedicatee of these pieces, Wilhelm Wasielewski, leader of the Düsseldorf orchestra was no amateur, something reflected in the viola writing for these ‘Fairytale Pictures’.

“The third movement feels to me like Schumann’s response to Der Erlkönig and the last movement is one of his most touching ‘songs without words’” says Krzysztof.

Britten’s Lachrymae, subtitled ‘Reflections on a Song of John Dowland’, were written almost 100 years later and recall the most famous of Dowland’s instrumental solos the Lachrymae Pavan or Flow my tears. But the lute song on which Britten principally bases his six reflections is a love-lorn lament, the melancholy song If my complaints could passions move. Inspiration to write for viola had come from Britten’s meeting with the virtuoso William Primrose who gave the premiere performance in Aldeburgh in June 1950.

Shostakovich’s Sonata was composed from April to July 1975 (he dies in August of that year). Dedicated to Fyodor Druzhinin, long-time friend for Shostakovich and violist of the Beethoven Quartet since 1966. The musical texture of this work is spare and austere, and although it’s misleading to think of it as a deliberate gesture of farewell, there is the sense of pain and valediction as well as defiance and a sardonic humour that run through all his late works. The three movement work opens with what Shostakovich characterised as a ‘novella’, followed by a grotesque scherzo and finishes with an adagio which quotes Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ sonata. In 2006 musicologist Ivan Sokolov revealed an extraordinary discovery: that Shostakovich had woven a tissue of tiny quotations from all 15 of his symphonies, in order, into the viola and piano parts. “Recording this work has been a very moving experience for Katya and myself. There’s a fragility to this music which requires a lot of courage from the performers.”

Brahms Op.120 sonatas were originally intended for the clarinet, but he also arranged them for viola. Presented here in a stunning recording, Rachel Roberts has established herself internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and Lars Vogt needs no introduction.