Robert Schumann: Concert pour piano seul - Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 14 - Fantasiestücke

Albumbeschreibung

This disc by German pianist Florian Henschel features the first recording of Robert Schumann's F minor Piano Sonata, Op. 14, in its original form. Heretofore, performances of the composer's alternate three-movement and four-movement versions have been the norm, and the five-movement original has been inaccessible. Given the original's strangeness, this neglect is comprehensible. Called Concert pour Piano seul (Concerto for Piano solo), the work starts with a fantastic Allegro brilliante, follows that with an aggressive first Scherzo and a boisterous second Scherzo, follows that with a theme by Schumann's then-girlfriend and later wife Clara Wieck, plus five increasingly romantic variations on it by Schumann, and concludes with an extraordinary movement marked Prestissimo possibile that stretches the boundaries of pianistic virtuosity. There was nothing like it in 1836, and the work remains highly unusual almost two centuries later. Given the sonata's unique qualities, it would take one heck of a pianist to successfully perform it. Henschel, thankfully, is one heck of a pianist. He has the bravura technique the work demands -- his Allegro brilliant and Presitssimo possibile live up to the tempo indications -- and the wild imagination it requires -- the variations get progressively more bizarre as they go along. And yet Henschel can also hold the whole work together, making its virtuosity an expression of its strangeness and its odd form intrinsic to its integrity. All by itself, Henschel's performance returns an important work to the repertoire. Equally impressive is his performance of the Fantasiestücke, Op. 12. An audacious set of character pieces in Schumann's best high romantic manner, the eight movements are neither as virtuosic nor as unusual as the sonata. But they are still extremely inventive and perhaps more evocative and Henschel gives them the kind of high-flying performance they deserve. Recorded in clear, warm sound by Neos, this disc will interest anyone who reveres the great German composer.
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