Customer Reviews

Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze; Piano Sonata, Op. 22; Toccata, Op. 7

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
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I have always known Geza Anda as the greatest interpreter of Schumann's Davidsbuendlertaenze, but this recording has charmed me with the young Russian pianist, Boris Berezovsky.
His interpretation is not as strong, masculine, and exciting as Anda's. He is more romantic and sensitive, and yet has his astonishing moments. Berezovsky's sonata No.2 is magnificent, moving and powerful. The sound is well recorded, with a high dynamic range.

If you enjoy this pianist, there is another superb recording by him: Rachmaninov's Variations on a Theme of Chopin and sonata No.1.(Teldec 1994)

this is a beautiful disc. in the romantic piano repertoire, schumann's music is especially difficult to intepret because the musical ideas are sometimes so simple or quirky, while the emotional meaning underneath the music is so complex and deep. berezovsky speaks schumann like his native tongue.

i don't think there is a performance of the davidsbundlertanze quite like this. berezovsky shapes these pieces afresh, adhering to the earliest version of the music, unpublished until after schumann's death. berezovsky's range of tone, touch, accent and tempo is original, apt and persuasive. a few passages are quite unconventional -- the transition from "wie aus die ferne" to the final movement is made slowly and quitely, not as a fortissimo crescendo -- and the last movement is played very haltingly, "with tears in his eyes." i think only kempff and haefliger match the characterfulness and nobility of this recording.

that said, the performances of the finger twisting second sonata and toccata are virtuosic and impassioned; no halting over technical problems in this playing. the sonata starts out with an unconventional feeling of reserve, which makes the movement's later climaxes even more effective. spectacular!

in the romantic piano repertoire, schumann's music is especially difficult to intepret because the musical ideas are sometimes so simple or quirky, while the emotional meaning underneath the music is so complex and deep. schumann's performance notation, which can be obscure or puzzling, is often the key to unlocking the energy of the music.

i don't think there is a performance of the davidsbundlertanze quite like this. berezovsky shapes these pieces afresh, with a range of tone, touch, accent and tempo that is attentive, apt and persuasive. but he seems to veer from schumann's notated intentions about as often as he restores correct readings that other players have conventionally ignored. a detailed list would be pedantic, but it is surprising to hear the transition from #17 ("wie aus die ferne") to the final movement made slowly and quitely (which is the correct reading of the earlier edition of the work) and not in an accelerando and crescendo (as it is always played), or to hear the repeated unison f's in the trio of #13 played pianissimo, not forte -- as notated in every edition of the work and as played by every other pianist on the planet. there are also agogic pauses between contrasting musical textures within a single movement that get in the way of the musical momentum. (these become exasperating at the end of the toccata, where they seem to gloss performance difficulties; the whole piece must continually forge ahead like a linebacker, as richter played it.)

i think kempff, zacharias, perahia or haefliger better capture the full characterfulness and nobility of this strange set of dances. (sadly, the haefliger disc is currently out of print.) berezovsky clearly knows the zacharias recording, but even so he will certainly make you hear these dances afresh, and perhaps rethink your ingrained performance preferences.

his rendition of the finger twisting second sonata is virtuosic and impassioned but lacks the wildness that gives it such power. berezovsky starts out with an unconventional feeling of reserve, although this makes the movement's later climaxes surprisingly effective. overall, all the pieces shine under a virtuosic and consistently thoughtful performance.