Vladimir Feltsman
is a sympathetic interpreter of the music of the middle 19th century, with several incisive
Schumann
albums to his credit. Here, he offers a program that may well be unique, tracing the development of
's style "from ABEGG to Nachtstuecke," as
Feltsman
puts it in his always instructive and elegant booklet notes, adorned here with a quotation from
Jean Paul
, "The whole world shines for the poet." This points to the strengths of
's readings. Other pianists may wring greater lyricism out of individual pieces, but for insight into the intellectual and cultural currents in which
was swimming, he can't be beat. On one hand, it is true that
appeared in the world as a fully formed genius, but those currents grow deeper as the music on this program proceeds in
's hands. The opening
Variations on the name Abegg, Op. 1
, is not much played, but it shows how
's imagination was active from the start; the piece is dedicated to a purely fictitious Pauline von Abegg, the letters of whose name just happen to provide the notes of a theme for
's set of variations.
nicely captures the improvisatory quality of the breathtakingly miniature
Papillons, Op. 2
, and
Davidsbuendlertaenze, Op. 6
, and in the "Florestan" / "Eusebius" pair of
Carnaval, Op. 9
, representing
's ongoing self-personification of the two sides of his personality, there is a real sense in these performances of
arriving at the idea and moving into it confidently. Likewise,
gives space to the larger pieces that mark the inauguration of the next phase of
's career. Beautifully recorded at the Wyastone Estate, this is a release that brings
alive. ~ James Manheim