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Physical buyers of the album will get reflections from Tiffany Poon about "feeling all the feels" and other similarly general concepts (the diaries, apparently, are hers rather than Schumann's), but this young pianist turns out to have a real feel for Schumann, and this release, her first on the PentaTone label, promises much. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of available recordings of the three Schumann works here, but Poon succeeds in standing out from the crowd. The most remarkable performance of all is one of the most popular works, Kinderszenen, Op. 15, and within that, one can sample the single most beloved Scene of Childhood, Träumerei, Op. 15/7. Poon, in a world full of heavily rubato-laden interpretations of these pieces, takes Robert Schumann's advice to Clara to heart and plays them not far from fixed tempos, but there is nothing dispassionate about her performance, which makes a great deal out of very small gestures. Later in the program, which builds in intensity as it proceeds, Poon unleashes some drama in the Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, works that are close to Schumann's heart and expressive of his fantasy life. Even here, everything is under perfect control. It has been a very long time since such freshly conceived and brilliantly executed Schumann has graced CD players and hard drives, and audiences responded by placing this album on classical best-seller lists in early 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo

The latest album ‘Encounter’ by the German-Russian pianist is a particularly astonishing one, blending the diverse works of great composers such as Bach, Brahms and Morton Feldman. While the 2020 health crisis, due to the covid19 virus, has caused great anxiety among the general population it has also ignited the imagination of artists and musicians alike. Locked down in his apartment like so many us, the pianist Igor Levitt broadcasted a daily, live performance on his social media, even going as far as playing a 20 hour piece, Vexations by Erik Satie. ‘Encounter’, the product of Levitt’s self-isolation during lockdown, brings together an intelligent and pleasing array of composers. From Bach arranged by Busoni at the Palais de Mari, or the latest work from Morton Feldman for solo piano, to Brahms arranged by Reger, these are intimate connections between composers, as much as they are moments of solidarity at a time or great loneliness and isolation. Levitt’s poignant introspection and devotion to humanity shines throughout his album. © François Hudry/Qobuz

This is a rather brisk reading of Brahms' masterpiece, the most ambitious work in his output, one of the greatest compositions of its type. When I listen to this piece, I often sit numb, in awe of its profound beauty, of its emotional range and intellectual depth. I hadn't heard it for some time, so this recording occasioned a most welcome reacquaintance. Though Herreweghe's tempos often pushed the music to its limits here (except for the first section), the performance never actually sounded fast, or at least not offensively fast. In fact, it challenges my previous favorite, the Levine/RCA.Funny, but both recordings are rather opposites: Levine's is weighty and glorious, where Herreweghe's is ecstatic and animated. The former has the better soloists in Kathleen Battle and Hakan Hagegard, and the better supporting forces in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, advantages that would seem to tilt the scales in favor of the RCA. But those seeming pluses can be deceptive. In fact, I think Herreweghe may actually have a superior interpretation, perhaps hitting closer to the spirit of the Requiem as Brahms conceived it: the composer's work aims toward the human side of the issue, depicting mourning, all right, but offering consolation, instead of expressing the grimness of the Last Judgment. Try Herreweghe's positively rapturous ending of the third section, starting from around 7:00. Levine here goes slower and is convincing in his way. Both offer good opening sections (Selig sind), although here it is Herreweghe who goes slower, and to good effect.In the end, this Harmonia Mundi Brahms Requiem is thoroughly compelling and suffers from no weaknesses: if the soloists are not as good as Levine's, they're not much inferior either, and they certainly convey the requisite drama, religiosity, humanity and sorrow with total conviction. On the evidence here, I'd say Finley should be better known. Oelze's contribution isn't to be overlooked either, but she comes up short when compared with Battle. The choral and orchestral support on this Harmonia Mundi release are first-rate. The notes are informative, and full texts are provided; sound reproduction is superb. In sum, this is a major effort by all parties involved, and takes its place among the most distinguished Brahms Requiems.© TiVo

There is little flute music from the middle of the 19th century. The notes for this release by flutist Emmanuel Pahud and pianist Eric Le Sage point out that this was likely because the flute was in a technological trough during this period, with the advances that led to the modern flute still several decades in the future. Not a one of the works on this album was written for the flute. The three Romances, Op. 94, of Robert Schumann were for the oboe, while Clara Schumann's set was composed for the violinist Joseph Joachim; six lieder by Fanny Mendelssohn fit well on the flute, and Felix Mendelssohn's Sonata in F major was for violin originally. Nowhere is it stated whose transcriptions these are; perhaps they are Pahud's own, although the notes refer to Jean-Pierre Rampal's transcription that brought the Robert Schumann Romances into the flute repertory. At any rate, a flutist of the late 19th century would have found this project entirely congenial. There are several attractive features here, beginning with the graceful, thoroughly French-school readings by Pahud; his agile, joyous reading of Felix Mendelssohn's sonata finale is one of the highlights. The pieces by the female spouses are also unusually strong; the Romances of Clara Schumann, writing for the leading violinists of the age, are certainly not unknown, but they're still not the commonplace of the concert stage they should be, and their rather delicate tone comes off well on the flute. Warner Classics' thoroughly idiomatic sound from the Namur Concert Hall in Belgium is yet another draw on an album that anyone can enjoy.© James Manheim /TiVo

There is no single radical departure in these performances of Brahms' two sonatas for cello and piano and Schumann's Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102. Instead, what happens is that various factors come together in performances of rare variety and intensity. Cellist Christian Poltéra and pianist Ronald Brautigam have worked together before and have evolved into a chamber music unit of great cohesion. Brautigam plays a copy of an 1868 Streicher piano; it is not exactly a historical instrument, but it has a precise, penetrating quality that suits the interpretation here beautifully. Póltera has a deep understanding of these works, offering readings that bring out the full range of the music's expressive traits. The Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38, loses its usual dour, growling quality; sample the exuberant finale. It has been suggested that the word "Volkston" in Schumann's Fünf Stücke im Volkston might better be translated as "popular style" than "folk style"; annotator Michael Struck suggests that the pieces are related to Schumann's sympathy for the republican movements of 1848, and Póltera imbues them with rare depth and lyricism. Of course, another side of Brahms is the intellectual complexity that gives one the delightful suspicion that one will never emerge from the thicket. The opening material of the Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99, has very rarely seemed so pregnant with implications and had those implications so deeply worked out. There are many available performances of all these works (perhaps a bit fewer of the Schumann), but these are marvelous and worth hearing for anyone. This release made classical best-seller lists in early 2024.© James Manheim /TiVo

The pianist Jonathan Fournel, recent prizewinner of the prestigious 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition (where he won not only the Queen Elisabeth Grand Prix, but also the Queen Mathilde Prize, the Musiq3 Audience Prize and the Canvas-Klara Award) has joined the Alpha label for several recordings, starting with a Brahms programme recorded in the superb acoustic of the music room at La Chaux-de-Fonds just before the Competition: "Over the years, for me Brahms has become a figure I admire so tremendously, a composer I can never tire of. It was fairly obvious to me that I had to make my first recording with these two works that I love so much". The 28-year-old French pianist has been gathering many plaudits for his concerts and shows all the signs of developing a great career and a highly individual artistic path. © Alpha Classics

No doubt fairies exist. Mendelssohn spoke their language well. When he considered composing music to Shakespeare’s play, he decided to focus on the scenes with fairies.Humans like this music. It entertains them. They are allowed to listen to this cd, too. However, we made this recording for fairies. They listen differently. This recording is full of hidden messages, which they will understand.Fairies are around us all the time. They occasionally interfere but sometimes they take a long time waiting for the right moment. If you keep your voice down and open your eyes, you will notice them. They listen to this music with more attention.- Iván Fischer

Continuing his award-winning Mendelssohn cycle, John Eliot Gardiner leads the London Symphony Orchestra, his Monteverdi Choir and three aspiring actors from the Guildhall School in a landmark performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was performed and recorded live as part of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Gardiner produces a personal version of the work featuring some cuts to the original melodrama movements (of course, nothing gets cut in the main movements, or those purely musical with no spoken text), in his words, ‘removing all of the music relating to the Mechanicals and thus focusing on the world of the fairies and the human lovers.’ Mendelssohn composed his concert overture based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1827 at the young age of 17. The overture was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece and quickly became a popular favourite throughout Europe. Years later, namely in 1843, he was asked by the King of Prussia to provide a score as the incidental music to an entire production. It’s made of fourteen short numbers based on themes and moods from the original overture, with a broadly romantic sound although classical in style and structure. According to the Evening Standard'Gardiner’s Mendelssohn with the LSO packs a surprisingly hefty punch', while Classic FM reports thats 'as you might expect, Gardiner brings his love of authentic performance into his approach – the LSO strings sound bright and breezy as they evoke Mendelssohn's Scotland.' © SM/Qobuz

In these love songs in waltz style for chorus or solo voices accompanied by piano four hands, Brahms freely indulged his taste for Viennese folk music. The RIAS-Kammerchor instils a wonderful inner life in these musical landscapes, sometimes cheerful, sometimes melancholy, punctuated here by a selection from the Hungarian Dances – also eminently popular in their inspiration. © harmonia mundi