Notes and Editorial Reviews
SCHUMANN
Carnaval.
Impromptus.
Albumblätter. Novelletten. Gesänge der Frühe.
7 Pieces in Fughetta Form. Variations on a Theme of Schubert
•
Cédric Pescia (pn)
•
CLAVES 50-1103/1104 (2 CDs: 153:19)
Cédric Pescia is a Swiss artist whose instructional résumé reads like a who’s who of great pianists—I dare not list some for fear of shorting others, and I can’t list them all in
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this review. His playing is crisp, highly energetic, and definitely a younger man’s take on Schumann, who after all wasn’t exactly old when he died at age 46. The album explores Schumann from young to ol—well, later, and it’s nice to see more attention being paid to those later works, often considered too “ill-inspired” because of the composer’s mental issues and incarceration. Hearing
Carnaval
and the impromptus, and the hugely expansive (more than 40-minutes)
Novelletten
next to his
Songs of Morning
, fughetta pieces, and the eclectic hodgepodge
Albumblätter
, all of which reflect an inner composer who regarded poetic utterance far over extroversion, is quite telling. The early pieces, being the most well known and popular, also set an appropriate stage for the later ones, and make us re-evaluate what we think we know about Schumann.
There are so many terrific Schuman releases coming at us right now that comparisons become moot. I like what I hear on these two discs, and the stallion-like propulsion and crystalline clarity of Pescia’s lines are thrilling indeed. Claves’s sound is second to none, and for those who have a need or desire for this type of program, you will not be disappointed.
FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter
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Works on This Recording
6.
Carnaval, Op. 9 by Robert Schumann
Performer:
Cédric Pescia (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1833-1835; Germany
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