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 [log in to unmask]