This CD by pianist and 'renaissance man' Stephen Hough contains, coincidentally or not, three consecutive opus numbers from Schumann's piano oeuvre: Kreisleriana op.16, Fantasie op.17 & Arabeske op.18. Schumann called the Kreisleriana a series of 'fantasies'. He was inspired by the fantastic world of the writer Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (see also Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker). Thanks to constant
… contrasts, this series strangely enough offers unity in diversity. Apparently, this is how it works for the listener: fast after something slow, bravura after something sweet, etc.. This is why pianists usually play the movements one after the other, as if they were one big story. Clara Schumann rarely played them in their entirety. She usually chose a selection. She then rearranged the pieces to create a varied whole. The three movements of the Fantasy also contrast beautifully with each other. But then on a somewhat larger scale, like a late Beethoven sonata. The lovely Arabesque will be the most popular. It is a piece that is also played by amateurs. (HJ)more
