Étiquette : Schumann
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Bruno Walter, a Conductor of Life: a conversation with Rémy Louis
To mark the 150th anniversary of Bruno Walter’s birth on September 15, 1876, Warner Classics is reissuing all of the conductor’s recordings for HMV and Graphophone between 1924 and 1939, beautifully restored by Christophe Hénault from Studio Art et Son. To look back at this major period—undoubtedly the most striking and foundational of Walter’s career—I…
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Heroic, the genius Volodos has struck again!
After an early career which, through no fault of his own, had confined him to a virtuoso repertoire – limiting his public image to that of a technical prodigy – Arcadi Volodos has, in recent years, turned his attention to the great classical repertoire. For the pianist, this represented a quest for depth and truth,…
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Fantastic Schumann’s Fantasy by Nikolai Lugansky
Recently, Nikolai Lugansky has had a knack for getting people talking about him. Musically speaking, in a good way. A very good way, in fact. A compelling album devoted to Beethoven’s late works, followed by a Wagner album featuring his own transcriptions of selected excerpts. A marvellous album, constantly alert, where the fantastic rubs shoulders…
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My favorite 2025 recordings
What records will you remember from 2025? Which ones made a particular impression on me, and which ones will go down in history? Here’s a brief overview of the recording year that’s just gone by, backed up by reviews and personal opinions – all subjective, of course! Let’s start with the piano. Yunchan Lim has…
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Brillant Classics gives a vibrant tribute to the art of Sergio Fiorentino
‘He is the only other pianist’, said Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. This April 2025, Brillant Classics is devoting an extremely exhaustive edition – 26 CDs – to the legacy of one of the greatest Italian pianists of the twentieth century. Having devoted most of his career to teaching, Sergio Fiorentino (1927-1998) was recorded mainly at the…
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50 versions of Schumann’s Fantasy
Schumann’s Fantasy is a work truly apart in the composer’s oeuvre. It is perhaps the least illustrative and the least programmatic of the composer’s works, but the most contemplative as well as the most passionate. Composed in two distinct phases – first the first movement, to be played with intensity and passion, composed for Clara,…