Robert Schumann(1810-1857)
     Kinderszenen, Opus 15

Part 4 covers these four recordings of Kinderszenen:

Dag Achatz............BIS 158(1980)
Jacqueline Blancard...Vanguard 8212(1950)
Alfred Brendel........Philips 434732(1980)
Brigitte Engerer......Harmonia Mundi 901600(1996)

Dag Achatz, born in Stockholm, has made double-digit recordings for
BIS including Scriabin piano works.  He has also made his own piano
transcriptions of the Rite of Spring, Firebird Suite, and Bernstein's
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.  Leonard Bernstein was mighty
impressed, and had Achatz transcribe and record for BIS a piano rendition
of Fancy Free.  Although not one of the world's best known pianists,
Achatz is certainly one of the most productive and has routinely received
glowing reviews of his recordings and concerts.  Achatz's disc containing
Kinderszenen is titled "For Children" and also has Beethoven's Fur Elise,
Deubussy's Children Corner, and other works appropriate for the titled
theme.

I never heard of Jacqueline Blancard until I became aware of this Vanguard
disc.  She hailed from Switzerland and was the prize pupil of Isadore
Philipp.  Blancard played with all the major orchestras of Europe and
eventually had her American debut in 1948.  Although praised by the New
York newspapers, she obviously did not gain a great reputation; you won't
find her in the Philips Great Pianist Series.  Blancard's well-filled disc
also has Schumann's Sonata in G minor, Faschingsschwank aus Wien, and the
Variations on a Theme by Schumann, composed by Brahms.

Everyone knows of Alfred Brendel, and his Schumann disc has Kreisleriana,
Opus 16 and Fantasiestucke, Opus 12 as couplings.  This was a hard disc
to locate, because even the Philips offical site does not mention it.
However, a magnanimous soul burned me a copy as I couldn't even find it
on the used market.  I do believe that the European market would be the
best spot from which to acquire the disc.

Brigitte Engerer started off by winning a number of prestigious piano
competitions such as the Marguerite Long Competition in Paris.  An
international career began in 1980 when Herbert von Karajan asked her to
perform with the Berlin Philharmonic.  Engerer has quite a few discs for
Harmonia Mundi under her belt including the Schumann Sonatas for Violin &
Piano and the original version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Her Kinderszenen disc also has Carnaval and a few short fillers to reach
the sixty minute mark.

Enough of the admin. stuff:

1st Scene(Foreign lands & people) - The music has much poignancy, and most
of it comes from the right-hand articulation; Engerer's is weak and results
in only a poetic reading.  Brendel takes the quick route which might not
have been advantageous; although excellent, he simply doesn't capture that
last ounce of emotion.  The same applies to Achatz who somewhat glosses
over the reflective passages of descending lines.  Blancard is exceptional
from start to finish.  Her articulation is very distinct and meaningful; at
a fairly slow pace, she fully realizes the wonder *and* introspection of
the music.

2nd Scene(Curious Story) - The major story here consists of crackling
sounds which infect the Blancard performance; it's much worse than a
strongly projected Gould hum and not acceptable.  Engerer isn't quite up
to snuff, and the reason resembles the problem cited in her 1st Scene -
weak articulation from the right hand.  Brendel and Achatz are excellent;
Achatz is the more exuberant, while Brendel is soft-spoken but filled with
a wide-eyed wonder of life.

3rd Scene(Catch me) - Brendel puts forth an exciting and fresh performance
with a little of the devil in him.  Blancard's crackling problem subsides
significantly and reveals a fine reading with strong momentum; much the
same can be said of Engerer's performance although she has an odd and
empty space toward the conclusion that would have been prime material for
a re-take.  Achatz's reading just won't do; he feels obliged to slow down
at times, and I mean 'really' slow down.  Does it enhance poignancy? No, it
just sounds like Achatz is taking a breather, and that could be cheating in
the offical rules book I've been compiling.

4th Scene(Pleading child) - Each version is excellent, but I prefer the
Blancard with its strong left hand projection.

5th Scene(Perfect happiness) - In the best versions, the happiness seems
to leap out of the speakers.  There are no such impressions from any of our
four artists.  Generally, the propulsion and exuberance are too low in each
version.

6th Scene(Important event) - Not an auspicious occasion.  Only Achatz
really captures the music's exuberance, and his winding-down at the
conclusion is half-hearted.  The crackling sounds in Blancard's version
are back in full stride, Engerer is too aggressive/percussive, and Brendel
again would benefit from greater animation.

7th Scene(Dreaming) - All are fully satisfying except for Achatz who is a
little too quick to well capture the music's nuances.  Brendel and Engerer
give gorgeous performances of a relaxed approach.  I prefer the Blancard
for its greater sense of urgency which contrasts beautifully with the
scene's gentle nature.

8th Scene(By the fireside) - This sprightly scene needs to blend urgency
with tenderness as child and adult view the fire from their respective
positions.  Engerer is rather perfunctory as both urgency and tenderness
are not well conveyed; the reading is on the jittery side with little
animation.

Brendel gives a quick and invigorating performance, while Blancard is
quite slow with fine urgency.  Best of the four is Achatz whose performance
reminds me much of Antonin Kubalek's outstanding offering on Dorian; both
give stunning portraits of the intimacy between child and adult.  The
emotionally rich interpretation from Achatz can not be found in Engerer,
Brendel, or Blancard.

9th Scene(Knight of the hobby-horse) - Whimsical music delivered with a
strong punch describes my perception of this energetic piece, and Brendel
does it proud; he's quick, vivacious, and always serving the music's needs.
Unfortunately, the other three versions have a common problem; each is too
powerful and loud to the point that whimsy is replaced by various degrees
of angst.  Blancard is likely the least guilty as her recorded sound tends
to veer blatantly toward the lower end of the keyboard.

10th Scene(Almost too serious) - I was getting skeptical that I'd hit a
scene where I considered Engerer the most rewarding of the group.  However,
her 10th Scene is a most gorgeous creation with exceptional flow.  The
other three versions are also excellently played with Blancard offering the
greatest urgency.  But if you want urgency and tension in addition to
beauty, none of these four interpretations comes close to the Moiseiwitsch
on Naxos or Testament(same performance).

11th Scene(Being frightened) - Sad/weeping motifs with three interludes
of surprise, fright, and even menace.  There's a good level of sadness and
surprise coming from Engerer, Achatz, and Blancard, but they are matched
by many alternative recorded versions.  The main event here is how poorly
Brendel handles this scene.  I can hardly detect any sadness, never mind
some weeping phrases.  Further, the surprise and fright that Brendel
elicits is relatively feeble; it's a throw-away performance where its
quality is the only surprising item.

12th Scene(Slumbering child) & Postlude(The poet speaks) - With these two
pieces, Schumann's longings and nuances come to the forefront.  All the
performances are excellent with the exception of Achatz.  He's very quick
in "Slumbering child" and rather perfunctory; matters do not improve with
"The poet speaks".

Don's Conclusions:

Given the multitude of choices, the Harmonia Mundi version from Brigitte
Engerer has little to recommend it.  The performance is not strongly
articulated, interplay/contrast between differing themes is not well
conveyed, and exuberance is often on the low side.  Engerer is best when
she simply goes for the beauty of the music as in "Almost too serious";
her attempts to do more than that are only sporadically successful.

Dag Achatz is in Engerer's league; neither really has a consistent
identification with Schumann's psychology.  Achatz is all over the place.
He's perfect one moment and disappointing the next.  I end up feeling that
it's only a coincidence when he does provide an exceptional interpretation.

Alfred Brendel and Jacqueline Blancard offer much better readings a
little below the level of the best recordings.  Blancard gives a wealth
of expression with excellent articulation.  She does have one mark against
her, and it all has to do with sound quality.  The emphasis is on the low
notes, and it's unattractive; exacerbating the problem is a cracking noise
which can infect powerful notes and chords.

Brendel's performance never dallies; he's consistently faster than the
norm.  The advantages include plenty of energy and exuberance.  The
disadvantage is some tendency to underplay passages of emotional depth
and complexity.

Through Part 4, my strongest recommendations go out to the same six
artists: Moiseiwitsch, Kubalek, Schnabel, Moravec, Arrau, and Horszowski.
Brendel can be heartily recommended with Blancard a little lower due to
sound issues.  Engerer and Achatz are only for those who tend to want
every version on record.

There are still around ten more recordings to review including those from
Petri, Haebler, Haskil, and Lupu.  My current thinking is that I'll cover
Lupu alone in Part 5.  See you then.

Don Satz
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