Robert Schumann(1810-1856)
           Kreisleriana, Op.16

Avner Arad, piano
Recorded March, 1998
Musicians Showcase 1001 [70:20]
Program: Schumann's Kreisleriana, Arabeske, and Fantasy in C

James Mathis, piano
Recorded January, 1962
Pierian 0011/12(2cds) [118:09]
Program:
Bach's Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in G major, BWV 564
Schubert's Piano Sonata in A major, D.664
Schumann's Kreisleriana, Op.16
Debussy's Preludes, Book II, nos.3/7/8/12
Ives' Three Page Sonata
Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No.3, Op.28
Rachmaninov's Prelude in G major, Op.32, no.5
Scarlatti's Sonata in A major, L.345
Villa Lobos' O polichinelo
Mozart's Piano Concerto in A major, K.488
Prokoviev's Piano Concerto No.1 in D flat major, Op.10

Klara Wurtz, piano
Recorded January 2001
Brilliant Classics 99791(3cds) [163:34)
All-Schumann Program:
Kreisleriana
Fantasy in C
Piano Sonatas Nos.1 and 2
Piano Concerto
Faschingsschwank Aus Wien

Brilliant Classics has been making quite a name for itself.  Offering
recordings that have been licensed from more prestigious labels in
addition to newly recorded material at prices much lower than Naxos,
this label is eliciting much conversation among record collectors.  My
two favorite sets up to this point in time are the Haydn Piano Sonatas
and the Shostakovich Symphonies, but the company has released many other
recordings of strong merit.

Brilliant Classics now gives us Volume 1 of the complete piano works of
Schumann performed by Klara Wurtz who was born in Budapest in the 1960's.
She began her piano studies at age 5 and was the pianist of the Hungarian
Children's Choir of Radio and Television in the early 1970's.  She has
studied with Andras Schiff and Zoltan Kocsis and currently is performing
concerts with the major orchestras of the world.  Wurtz's recordings
have included the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas and a few Schubert Piano
Sonatas.  Reviews of her recordings range from favorable to outstanding.

Klara Wurtz's performance of Kreisleriana is very impressive, especially
given the extremely low cost of Brilliant Classics discs.  Each movement
is rewarding, as Wurtz generally supplies ample power and tension to
Florestan along with a loving thoughtfulness to Eusebius.  The first and
last movements are her most compelling, and it's always great to begin
and end with your best shots.  In the 1st Movement, Wurtz is a tower of
strength in the primary subject, also giving Florestan an impetuosity
and emphasis not heard in most other versions.  In the final movement,
her upper voice figures are quite detailed, mysterious, and even a little
sinister; the interludes are delivered with the utmost in power and
determination.  Adding to the favorable effect is a state-of-the-art
recording which makes every note alive with texture and meaning.

Although effective, the other movements do not stand out from the crowd.
Her 7th Movement is likely the least rewarding; it's a little on the
tame side, and the toccata section is particularly lacking in desperation
and thrust.

Overall, this 3-cd set is a fine and inexpensive way to capture the
glories of Schumann's music.  There are better interpretations such as
from Gieseking, Kempff, and Schliessmann, but Wurtz's combination of low
cost, very good performances, and exceptional sound is a tempting brew.
The set would likely be of more value to new Schumann enthusiasts than
to seasoned collectors.  However, you can't go wrong with Kurtz.

The version from Avner Arad, a young Israeli born pianist, is not
acceptable.  Among a host of general performance problems, the most
glaring are his weak attacks, square phrasing, and sluggish rhythms.
However, that's just a small slice of the total deficiency.  The primary
problem revolves around pedals, note decay, and intervals.  Arad sounds
as if he's playing a piano without pedals; notes decay much too fast,
resulting in a significant portion of the soundstage not being used.
Further, the short decay time creates new intervals not in the score,
and every one of them is empty.  The only other possibility is that the
sound engineering is totally out of whack, but my money's on Arad as the
root source of the situation.

James Mathis, born in 1933 in Dallas, Texas, had all the talent
and academic background to be one of the greatest pianists of the 20th
century as attested to by the 2-cd Pierian set covering Mathis performances
at Carnegie Hall in the early 1960's.  Yet, he is now hardly known to
the general classical music public.  What went wrong?  Nothing really.
As best as I can figure, Mathis simply was not a man seeking fame and
fortune.  He was a consummate artist who increasingly took to teaching
as his primary musical outlet, allowing others to bask in the limelight.
From my perspective, the most compelling aspects of his playing are his
sonority, touch, and sense of balance among voices.

If Kreisleriana only had the first six movements, the Mathis recording
would be among the elite versions.  His command of Schumann's idiom and
innate understanding of the Florestan-Eusebius figures teams up with a
transcendent poetry to produce role-model performances.

Unfortunately, it all starts to unravel somewhat in the last two
movements.  First, the sound takes on a much harsher tone than previously.
This harshness, combined with a tendency for Mathis to be overly emphatic,
creates some unpleasant sounding passages in both interludes of the final
movement.  Second, the Mathis pause just before the toccata of the 7th
Movement is too long and gives the toccata a detached element.  Third,
the wonderful poetry and touch that Mathis conveys in the earlier music
seems to abandon him in the last two movements; in particular, he tends
to rush through the conclusion to the 7th Movement.

Don's Conclusions: James Mathis gives us a perfect set of transcendent
performances until doing a slight melt-down in the final two movements.
Karla Wurtz doesn't really offer anything astounding, and Avner Arad
can't get out of the starting blocks.  So, the nod goes to Mr.  Mathis
who deserves consideration as one of the great pianists of the past
century; that he's hardly a blip on the radar is a good example of how
fame is distirbuted in our times.  The Pierian sound is superior to what
Gieseking and Moiseiwitsch have to offer, but those skeptical of sound
characteristics on historical recordings should be wary.

The liner notes to the Mathis set mention that Mathis "must communciate
rather than astound".  Yet, his superb communicative skills *are* totally
astounding.  I strongly recommend you acquire the Mathis set which will
lead to some thought on how many other outstanding pianists are in the
'hardly known' category who inhabit the lofty artistry of pianists such
as Horowitz, Gilels, and Richter.

Don Satz
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