Schumann: Waldscenen / Fantasie, Op. 17 / 3 Fantasiestucke (Robert Schumann)

Album review

The young French pianist Nicolas Bringuier makes his recording debut here with this collection of pieces by German Romantic Robert Schumann: Waldszenen, Drei Fantasiestücke, and, as the pièce de résistance, the Fantasie in C major. One cannot disparage his technique, which is simply astounding: listen to the closing pages of the Fantasie's central movement. And one cannot doubt his passion, which is truly overwhelming: listen to the Fantasie's opening or closing movements. One could possibly question his poetry, which for some might not reach the heights of earlier recordings: listen to "Vogel als Prophet" from Waldszenen, which seems staid rather than spooky. And one could perhaps suspect his sensibility, which for others might not attain the depths of different performers: listen to his central "Ziemlich langsam" from the Fantasiestücke, which sounds shallow rather than profound. The overall impression left by Bringuier's playing is quite positive; any pianist who chooses to make a debut with a disc of Schumann and not of Chopin, Liszt, or some other popular composer, certainly gets credit for taste and daring. Recorded in exceedingly realistic super audio surround sound by Audite, this disc will introduce this first-class pianist to an international public.
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