Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9

The next issue in the complete works for piano series on Claves, sees the young dynamic pianist Cédric Pescia record his second album in this delightful series. The first was volume 2 and was extremely well received by the press. Volume 5 will no doubt see a similar reaction.

An improbable series of masks and Carnival scenes from 1843-46, played by the Czech pianist Slávka Pěchočová: the very essence of Romantic piano.

After graduating from the conservatory in Pardubice under the guidance of Martin Hršel, Slávka Pěchočová studied with Ivan Moravec. She also participated in master classes given by Nelly Akopian and, in 2002 completed the graduate programme at the Royal College of Music in London. Pěchočová has played with various orchestras, at home and abroad, conducted by Libor Pešek, Jiří Bělohlávek, Martin Turnovský, Jakub Hrůša, et al. In the summer of 2009 she was a guest soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London during the Proms. Pěchočová also pursues chamber music: she plays in the Spring duo and the Kinsky Trio Prague. Her 2010 recording of Janáček for Praga Digitals was enthusiastically received.

Lilian Akopova won first prize at the the Vianna Da Motta International Piano Competition 2010 and Anne-Sophie Mutter described her as having “impressive virtuoso and pianistic capabilities”. She appears regularly at festivals both as a soloist and chamber performer and performs in lecture concerts.

The final disc of the complete works for piano and piano chamber music, confirms Eric Lesage as THE specialist in Schumann’s repertoire. The harvest of outstanding reviews, for his recordings as much as for his numerous concerts across the globe, promises a brilliant future for this latest reference, which ends by the alpha and omega of his pianistic creation. It opens on the Rhine, in Mannheim, with the charming Variations on the name ‘Abegg’ , of 1830, and closes in Düsseldorf with the mysterious variations, called Geistervariationen, composed and copied out in February 1854, just before and immediately after his attempted suicide in the Rhine, leading to his permanent internment in Endenich (Bonn), facing the sacred river of the Germans…

This fourth volume of late Cortot completes APR’s survey of the post-war recordings which the pianist made for EMI in the UK. We are now entering the era of tape recording, and apart from the Deutsche Ländler of 1951, all the other titles, which date from 1953-54, were recorded in this new medium. This gave the artist new freedom, as he was not restriced to the length of a 78rpm side for each take, and Cortot tackled much of his ‘big’ repertoire again. Sadly, by this time his failing health meant that many works remained unissued as they did not meet the standards of his earlier magnificent versions, however some old warehorses did stand the test of time, as can be heard in the Carnaval featured here. His playing may have become technically more fallible but the performances fully support the claim of the late Thomas Manshardt, one of Cortot's last pupils, that this period of Cortot's career "is his greatest in thought and warmth and mastery’.

The booklet contains a discography of all Cortot’s HMV sessions from 1953 to 1955.

The 1956 RIAS recordings of Solomon, made shortly before the tragic end of his career, are benchmark recordings even today thanks to their sonorous lucidity and structural transparency. Archive releases of recordings made by the English pianist Solomon (1902-1988) are particularly noteworthy – partly due to the tragic turning point in the life of this exceptional artist. In 1956, during recordings of the complete Beethoven sonatas and following recordings of the piano concertos by Grieg and Schumann for EMI-Columbia, he suffered a major stroke which forced him into silence for the rest of his life. The music world was thus robbed of an eminent pianist and artist who, with his technically and creatively superior interpretations, always managed to penetrate the core of the musical message.

Solomon’s recordings of the classical and romantic piano repertoire document the highest artistic standing and, as such, take an immovable place in the history of pianism. This programme, recorded in February 1956 at the RIAS Berlin, is one of the last recordings made by Solomon. It is compiled in the same manner as his concert tours of 1955: two Beethoven sonatas form the centrepiece and are supplemented by works of Bach, Chopin, Schumann and Brahms.

The Schumann bicentenary is marked by pianist Alessandra Ammara with a pairing of two important collective works, Carnaval, op 9, and Davidsblündertänze, op 6, on a new recording with 24 bit/96kHz multichannel sound on a Hybrid SACD.

“You haven’t looked deeply enough into the Davidsblündertänze. I think they are completely different from Carnaval. They are like faces to the masks.” These are the words that composer Robert Schumann wrote to Clara Wieck (his future wife) in 1838, regarding the two works recorded here. Presenting Carnaval and Davidsblündertänze together is all the more fitting and stimulating because it offers the listener the chance to expore the complex world of Schumann from two different and complementary points of view. Each offers the other mutual sustenance and together represent a clear manifesto of Schumann’s art.

Alessandra Ammara has drawn the attention of the musical world from a young age, succeeding 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, performing throughout Europe and America. Highlights include performances at Grosses Philharmonie in Berlin, Salle Cortot in Paris, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Meridian Center in Washington. She has performed as soloist with orchestras such as the Berliner Symphoniker and Wiener Symphoniker, and collaborates in chamber music with many great artists, including Alban Gerhardt, Roberto Fabbriciani and the Takacs Quartet. Since 1999 she has toured in piano duo with Roberto Prosseda.

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.

Herbert Schuch’s new CD illuminates the influence of Schubert’s waltzes, landler and Deutsche Tänze on the romantic and virtuosic piano compositions of the 19th century. Both Schumann and Czerny wrote variations on material from Schubert’s Sehnsuchtswalzer. Also included on this CD are Schumann’s famous cycles Carnaval and Papillons.

Michael Korstick’s Beethoven cycle on Oehms is nearing completion and Volume 8 will be released in the autumn. In the meantime, this recording demonstrates another aspect of this artist’s musical spectrum.