Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26

Since his first release for Virgin Classics, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations in 2000, Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski’s has produced a catalogue which ranges from Bach and Mozart, through more Beethoven to Chopin, Szymanowski and Webern, and which includes several prizewinning recordings.

Both intellectual and inspirational, Anderszewski has said of musical interpretation: “One can speculate endlessly about the right ingredients, the perfect combination but the essential question remains unanswerable, lying far beyond the limits of the cleverest and most refined argument. And yet one goes on searching and, while realising that the search is about everything, the essence may yet reveal itself in the most unexpected way.”

This new release captures live performances by Anderszewski at a very recent recital – December 2008 – in New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall. The critic of the New York Times made clear that this was an exceptional musical experience.

After a performance so intense and draining, the notion of encores almost seemed superfluous. But Bartók’s Three Hungarian Folksongs from the Csik District had a welcome earthiness”

Anderszewski repeated the programme in Chicago shortly afterwards, and the response of the Chicago Sun Times was at a similar level of enthusiasm:

“There is something deeply comforting about the kind of perfection that Polish-Hungarian pianist Piotr Anderszewski brought to his program of Bach, Janácek and Beethoven … Perfection is a relative term when it comes to art, of course. There are myriad but equally valid ways to play a Bach partita or Beethoven sonata … Different artists plumb different facets in a piece of music, and listeners can only benefit from hearing what each one has managed to unearth.

But during the two hours or so that they are onstage, artists like Anderszewski manage to create a universe that seems utterly complete unto itself. There is a sense of inevitability in their performance, a feeling that the true essence of a composer's intentions has been discovered. Especially when our daily lives are battered by forces beyond our control, it is reassuring to spend an afternoon in a world of such richly calibrated balance.“

“It can be hard not to wax hyperbolic when confronted with the pianist Piotr Anderszewski’s sensitive touch and potent imagination.” New York Times

Alicia de Larrocha was, for long, an exclusive Decca artist, and besides making seminal recordings of Spanish repertoire, at which she excelled, she was also a Bach, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann player par excellence. She recorded Schumann's Carnaval twice for Decca and it's her earlier (1978) analogue version we release here. Together with Kreisleriana and the eighth Novelette - both recorded in 1971 - this is its first release on CD. This is Romantic piano music par excellence, complete with codes and ciphers from Robert to his beloved Clara, and Larrocha's playing has both tenderness and sweeping passion.

Eric Le Sage continues his complete survey devoted to Robert Schumann.

This is probably one of Claves Records’ greatest endeavours in the 40 year history of the label, the complete piano works of Schumann on six double cds. Here, we present volume III in this series, featuring the outstanding playing of Finghin Collins, who previously was awarded an ‘Editor’s Choice’ in the Gramophone for vol I of the series.

A programme of piano pieces by Schumann given by Gyorgy Cziffra. Studio recordings made in 1956 and 1958.