Customer Reviews

Schumann: Piano Works

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Gieseking is best known for his Debussy. In these recordings, Gieseking plays pieces from an earlier epoch in Schumann. Most of the heavy-hitting pieces of Schumann are found. I found his playing to be very striking and original. He was definitely not simply just "going through the motions." The dynamics were accentuated quite heavily, and the tempos were also accentuated. In addition, I found that Gieseking has a very sensitive, colorful tone in Schumann that also made him famous in Debussy (in the lyrical sections). Gieseking also captures the white-hot Romanticism and emotionality of these works, displaying Schumann as one of the greatest, red-blooded poets of the Romantic period.

Despite these very good qualities, Gieseking makes tons of mistakes. They are present in every piece. They are little slips, missed notes, and faked chords. I dont know if these errors are due to the Gieseking Method of learning pieces (where one does not practice at the keyboard, but practices away from the keyboard), but they detract from his otherwise intense performance.

I hate to get into recording comparisons, but I would choose Gieseking over several other Schumann interpretations, including Rubinstein and Kissin.

The sound quality of the recordings has quite a lot to be desired. These audio cuts were made in the 1940's, and it shows.

Lastly, my own personal quibble is that Geiseking's breathing is quite audible in every piece. For example, in the Carnaval's Preambule, this breathing is used to count the off-beats between notes. It's an annoyingly small distraction but one nonetheless.

P.S. There is quite a lot of music for two CD's. It's a good buy considering the price.