Getting to Know Schumann Again, With Some Favorites By ANTHONY TOMMASINI, ALLAN KOZINN, VIVIEN SCHWEITZER, and STEVE SMITH

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December 16, 2010
Getting to Know Schumann Again, With Some Favorites By ANTHONY TOMMASINI, ALLAN KOZINN, VIVIEN SCHWEITZER, and STEVE SMITH
As the Schumann bicentennial year winds down, the classical music critics of The New York Times would like to share their latest thoughts about Schumann recordings. Some of their opinions have changed, others not, since their last survey of the field in 2004.

Here are Times critics’ favorite Schumann CDs. Given the volatility and uncertainties of the classical record market, some of these CDs may be out of print or may be found under different record numbers, and may require searching in specialty shops or through online sources, where some are available for purchase or downloading.

Anthony Tommasini

‘HUMORESKE,’ ‘FANTASIESTÜCKE,’ ‘NOVELLETTEN’ Sviatoslav Richter, pianist (Melodiya 74321 29464 2; CD).

‘DAVIDSBÜNDLERTÄNZE,’ ‘FANTASIESTÜCKE’ Murray Perahia, pianist (Sony Classical SK 92616; CD).

PIANO SONATA NO. 1, ‘KREISLERIANA’ Murray Perahia, pianist (Sony Classical SK 62786; CD).

PIANO CONCERTO Leif Ove Andsnes, pianist; Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Mariss Jansons (with Grieg’s Piano Concerto; EMI Classics 5 57562 2; CD).

SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4, ‘MANFRED’ OVERTURE New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Sony Classical SMK 47611/2; two separate CDs).

SCHUMANN, a devoted disciple of Bach, was nearly obsessed with mastering techniques of counterpoint. And he lived in awe of Beethoven, who established the model of the symphonic ideal that intimidated so many composers in his wake. Yet Schumann was also the ultimate Romantic, with a phantasmagoric and childlike imagination.

Schumann best reconciled these seemingly disparate aesthetic stands in his remarkable piano works. Among his most astonishing, and most overlooked, piano works is the “Humoreske.” As its fanciful title suggests, this multimovement suite abounds in wistful reveries, mock-heroic marches and coyly charming melodic flights. Yet just below the surface the music teems with rigorous contrapuntal writing and wandering chromatic harmonies.

Sviatoslav Richter’s 1956 recording may be a little hard-driving, punchy and wild for some tastes. I find it thrilling. And Richter does things here — bringing out inner voices, articulating rippling passagework with uncanny clarity — that would seem impossible.

Murray Perahia’s beautiful 1973 recording of Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze” and “Fantasiestücke” helped bring him to attention. I loved it when it was released and still do. He tends to let the fantastical content of Schumann’s style take care of itself. Instead he simply lays out the scores with devotion, poetic sensitivity, scrupulous musicianship and pristine technique. Especially glorious is Mr. Perahia’s “Davidsbündlertänze,” Schumann’s suite of dancelike pieces celebrating an imaginary band of musicians rallying to counter the philistines who indulged in virtuosic display.

I cannot help placing another of Mr. Perahia’s Schumann recordings among my choices: his 1997 release offering definitive accounts of “Kreisleriana,” another Schumann work that hauntingly combines fervid imagination with intellectual mettle, and the Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor. Schumann struggles in the sonata to channel his fancy into the formal sonata structure. Mr. Perahia plays the piece with such honesty and vigor that it comes across as fully formed and stunning.

Schumann’s Piano Concerto is heard so often that its originality can be taken for granted. The pianist Leif Ove Andsnes makes it sound startlingly fresh in his live 2002 recording with Mariss Jansons conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. In the CD notes Mr. Andsnes describes the concerto as “emotionally very complex — at times even schizophrenic.” This performance brings out those qualities while dispatching the music with unfailing integrity. (And it is coupled with a magnificent account of the Grieg concerto.)

I grew up with Leonard Bernstein’s recordings of the Schumann symphonies with the New York Philharmonic from 1960 (available on two individual CDs). The original album cover emphasized that Bernstein was using Schumann’s original orchestrations, which many conductors and scholars considered awkward. In these performances Bernstein was out to prove that Schumann knew what he was doing, if you have a conductor in charge who trusts the scores and strives to get the balances right.

Years later Bernstein recorded these symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic, magisterially. I still prefer these earlier versions with the New York Philharmonic, where his feisty enthusiasm comes through so directly.

Allan Kozinn

‘CARNAVAL,’ ‘FANTASIESTüCKE,’ OTHER WORKS Arthur Rubinstein, pianist (RCA 63051; CD).

PIANO SONATA NO. 1, FANTASY IN C Leif Ove Andsnes, pianist (EMI Classics 56414; CD).

PIANO CONCERTO, KONZERTSTüCKE (OPP. 92, 134) Murray Perahia, pianist; Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado (Sony Classical SK 64577; CD).

CELLO CONCERTO, OTHER WORKS Mischa Maisky, cellist; Martha Argerich, pianist; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon 289 460 524; CD).

‘DICHTERLIEBE,’ ‘LIEDERKREIS’ (OP. 24), OTHER SONGS Ian Bostridge, tenor; Julius Drake, pianist (EMI Classics 56575; CD).

I HAVE always had mixed feelings about Schumann. Most of his larger works strike me as structurally unwieldy and often uninteresting, as if the eccentricities that turned into madness at the end of his life had kept him from focusing on formal logic and other seemingly necessary technical details. Yet certain of Schumann’s medium-size works, like the Piano Concerto and the Cello Concerto, are engaging and full of personality. And you have to believe that the very quirkiness that led him astray elsewhere was actually the key to his originality (and durability) in more compact works, and in scores like “Carnaval,” a grand pianistic panorama built of picturesque, richly characterized short movements.

Rubinstein made two superb but very different recordings of “Carnaval,” each with irresistible points: normally I prefer the energy and temperament that drive his 1953 mono recording. But the version listed, from the early 1960s, is more seasoned and judicious. Schumann’s odd sensibility still comes through, but here Rubinstein’s interpretation is more ruminative and relaxed, and the piano sound in this stereo recording is richer. Also included are colorful accounts of the “Fantasiestücke” and the marvelously weird “Prophet Bird.”

The main attraction of Leif Ove Andsnes’s energetic recital is the Opus 17 Fantasy, composed as part of a plan to raise money for a Beethoven monument, and its allusions to Beethoven’s “An die Ferne Geliebte” and Seventh Symphony make it a monument in its own right. Mr. Andsnes gives the three-movement work a powerful, focused performance, and does the same for the theme-rich but diffuse Sonata No. 1.

Murray Perahia, in his 1994 recording of the Piano Concerto, strikes a fine balance between the tensions and anxieties that seem always to be at the boiling point in Schumann and the lyricism that keeps his best music from going off the deep end. Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic follow Mr. Perahia’s interpretive impulses closely, not only in the concerto but also in the less frequently heard fillers, the Introduction and Allegro Appassionato and the stormy Introduction and Allegro Concertante.

The obvious first choice for a Schumann Cello Concerto recording is Rostropovich’s, but sometimes it’s worth looking beyond the obvious, particularly if you are seeking a disc that puts the concerto in the context of Schumann’s other cello music instead of pairing it with concertos by other composers. Mischa Maisky produces a rich sound in his cogent, forceful reading of the concerto and shows the lively give-and-take between cello and piano in several chamber pieces, with Martha Argerich supplying characterful accounts of the piano lines.

Schumann’s songs rival Schubert’s in their ability to summon, concisely, a fully realized emotional world. Ian Bostridge offers sensitive, shapely performances of the great cycles, “Liederkreis” and “Dichterliebe,” using a varied tonal palette that occasionally, and briefly, toes the line between speech and song when an almost spoken sound seems more confiding. A handful of miscellaneous songs is included as well, among them the haunting, dramatic “Belsatzar.”

Vivien Schweitzer

‘CARNAVAL,’ ‘KREISLERIANA’ Mitsuko Uchida, pianist (Decca 475 8260; CD).

‘KINDERSZENEN,’ ‘HUMORESQUE,’ ‘KREISLERIANA’ Radu Lupu, pianist (Decca B00000422M; CD).

PIANO CONCERTO Dinu Lipatti, pianist; Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan (with Mozart’s Concerto No. 21; EMI Classics B000063UN6; CD).

VIOLIN SONATAS NOS. 1-3 Jennifer Koh, violinist; Reiko Uchida, pianist (Cedille 90000 095; CD).

‘DICHTERLIEBE,’ OTHER HEINE SETTINGS Gerald Finley, bass-baritone; Julius Drake, pianist (Hyperion B001CJYJRS; CD).

SCHUMANN, the son of a bookseller, began composing just as significant advances were being made in the development of the upright piano. He wrote mainly keyboard music during the early part of his career, incorporating prominent literary and autobiographical allusions in many of his works for solo piano, like “Carnaval” and “Kreisleriana.”

Mitsuko Uchida offers noteworthy interpretations of both works. She creates vivid characterizations in the 29 movements of “Carnaval,” with colorful portraits of the dreamy Eusebius and the volatile Florestan (Schumann’s alter egos).

The ever-probing Radu Lupu also offers a distinguished rendition of “Kreisleriana.” The disc includes an evocative performance of “Humoreske,” whose opening section he plays with yearning refinement. The highlight of the recording is Mr. Lupu’s magical performance of “Kinderszenen,” which unsentimentally evokes the whimsy and imagination of Schumann’s beloved work. “Träumerei” (“Reverie”) and “Der Dichter Spricht” (“The Poet Speaks”) are particularly lovely.

Another legendary Schumann interpreter was the great Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti, who died of Hodgkin’s disease at 33, in 1950. One of his signature pieces was Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, which can be heard on a recording made shortly before Lipatti’s death with Herbert von Karajan and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. Still a benchmark, the interpretation is rarely rivaled for its elegance, depth and poetry.

In Schumann’s catalog of chamber works, his three sonatas for violin and piano are not performed as often as his popular Piano Quintet or “Fantasiestücke.” With sensitive musicianship, the violinist Jennifer Koh and the pianist Reiko Uchida illuminate the charm and depth of these three works, in which the two instruments have an equal role. Particularly impressive is their performance of the Sonata No. 2 in D minor, a key that for Schumann (as for Mozart) had a particular significance, implying emotional turbulence.

Schumann also made significant contributions to the vocal repertory, particularly in 1840, when he wrote more than 150 songs. That year his “Dichterliebe” (“The Poet’s Love”), set to texts from Heinrich Heine’s “Lyrisches Intermezzo,” was published.

Amid stiff competition, the bass-baritone Gerald Finley and the pianist Julius Drake offer a standout recording of Schumann songs, including the “Dichterliebe” cycle. Mr. Finley’s beautiful, mellifluous voice is attuned to every textural nuance and mood, his singing often introspective and reflective rather than overtly emotional, although in songs like “Belsatzar” there is plenty of simmering tension. Throughout the disc, Mr. Finley’s interpretations offer communicative artistry of the highest level.

Steve Smith

SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4, OVERTURE, SCHERZO AND FINALE Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch (EMI Classics 5 67771 2; two CDs).

PIANO CONCERTO; PIANO QUINTET Rudolf Serkin, pianist; Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy; Budapest Quartet (CBS Great Performances MK 37256; CD).

PIANO WORKS Wilhelm Kempff, pianist (Deutsche Grammophon 471 312-2; four CDs).

‘DICHTERLIEBE’ Fritz Wunderlich, tenor; Hubert Giesen, pianist (with songs by Beethoven and Schubert; Deutsche Grammophon 449 747-2; CD).

‘MYRTHEN,’ DUETS Dorothea Röschmann, soprano; Ian Bostridge, tenor; Graham Johnson, pianist (Hyperion CDJ33107; CD).

SCHUMANN’S four completed symphonies have long been maligned for awkward orchestration and more besides, yet in the right hands they easily assert their place in the standard repertory for their noble themes and vibrantly conjured moods. Two of the surest hands are those of Wolfgang Sawallisch, whose 1971 EMI recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden is both the most convincing traversal by any one conductor and among Mr. Sawallisch’s crowning achievements on record.

Reissued in 2001, the set is filled with memorable touches: a majestic opening to the “Spring” Symphony, a crackling scherzo in the Second, blazing grandeur in the first movement of the “Rhenish” and brilliant characterization throughout the Fourth. Even the underrated Overture, Scherzo and Finale, a near-symphony from 1841, gets its due. In 2003 Mr. Sawallisch released a second set of Schumann symphonies, recorded live with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Those versions are still available as downloads, but the brio of Mr. Sawallisch’s Dresden cycle makes it a clear first choice.

Schumann’s popular Piano Concerto in A minor hardly lacks for excellent recordings; whether you prefer brain, brawn or Romantic effusiveness, you can find an account to suit your taste. Rudolf Serkin’s 1964 CBS recording has stood the test of time, both for the lucidity of his playing and for ravishing accompaniment by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A CBS Great Performances album that also includes Serkin’s authoritative 1963 rendition of Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat, with the Budapest Quartet, is available for download from a variety of sources and on made-to-order CD from ArkivMusic.com.

In solo piano works like “Davidsbündlertänze,” “Kinderszenen” and “Kreisleriana,” Schumann juggles characters, scenes and moods with the passions of a poet and the reflexes of a seasoned dramatist. Again, the recorded catalog offers playing for every temperament. Yet few pianists approach the totality of Schumann’s expression with the sobriety and taste shown in a four-CD collection of recordings Wilhelm Kempff made for Deutsche Grammophon during the late 1960s and early ’70s. Now and again Kempff’s technique falls short for an instant, but his insight and grace never falter.

Among Schumann’s extraordinary outpouring of songs during the 1840s, the cycle “Dichterliebe” stands as a peak of emotional efficacy and compositional ingenuity. The stormy passions in these 16 Heine settings seem to invite darker voices. Yet Heine was 25 when he published his “Lyrisches Intermezzo,” from which the “Dichterliebe” poems were chosen, and Schumann was 30 when he set them. The tenor Fritz Wunderlich, 35 when he recorded the work for Deutsche Grammophon in 1965 (less than a year before his tragically early death), sang with a supernal sweetness and crystalline clarity that made his account one for the ages.

The soprano Dorothea Röschmann and the tenor Ian Bostridge bring a similarly winsome quality to their shared account of Schumann’s “Myrthen,” a collection from 1840, and combine deliciously in two sets of duets (Opp. 34 and 78) in the seventh volume of a series devoted to Schumann’s complete songs from the Hyperion label. Purchase the album by itself or choose a boxed set of the entire series; whatever you do, don’t miss this disc.