One of my teenage idols, so it's kind of surprising that he's relatively unrepresented in my collection. But that's economics for you.
You know, one can be very protective about teenage icons. A few weeks ago I read somewhere that Schumann was not very good at orchestration. I huffed and puffed, how dare they insult my idol. Then I thought - he was adequate, but he was no Beethoven or Wagner.
And Listening to Kreisleriana and Carnaval, as played by Mitsuko Uchida, all piano, not an orchestra in sight, I think this is pleasant-enough music, but more than that, I think not. Except for the last few movements of Carnaval, especially Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins, which is ace. This apart, relegate to aural wallpaper. But I should listen to it more often, and maybe I shall get more out of it.
I have two versions of his Piano Concerto, so thought I would do an A-B comparison, but then I decided against it. I love both versions - one is Alfred Brendel (who I saw on Thursday) with the LSO under Abbado and the other is Leif Ove Andsnes. It's coupled with the Grieg, which I saw him play last year at the Barbican.
It has to be one of my favourite pieces of all time - the piano crashes in, and then plays happily against the background of lyrical strings. I love the way in the first movement there is such a fab dialogue between the paino and the orchestra. The intermezzo is a bit ponderous, but then it goes into the Allegro, which is rather stirring and has one of the more melodramatic long-drawn out climaxes in the canon.
It would take a better ear than mine to really tell the difference between the two versions I have, but impressionistically I would say that Brendel's is more intimate and Andsnes's is more dramatic.
My final Schumann excursion is his 3rd and 4th symphonies with the Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi. I have had this for years - this is taped off vinyl. Schumann is not especially highly regarded as an orchestral composer, but I do so like the Third Symphony in particular, especially the use of brass.
