Schumann: Piano Concerto, Piano Trio No 2 | Album Review

Schumann: Piano Concerto; Piano Trio No 2Alexander Melnikov (piano), Freiburger Barockorchester/Pablo Heras-Casado, Isabelle Faust (violin), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello)Harmonia Mundi HMC 902198 (plus DVD)4

Schumann Piano Concerto Alexander Melnikov
    
Artist: Robert Schumann, Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado
Genre: Classical
Label: Harmonia Mundi

This is the second instalment of a period-instruments series pairing Schumann’s concertos and piano trios.

Alexander Melnikov plays an 1837 Erard in the Piano Concerto, an 1847 Streicher in the Trio in F, Op. 80.

He uses both instruments’ lean tonal profiles to provide balances and colours that are still rare in this repertoire.

Some of his personal touches in the concerto, especially the leisurely tempo for the finale, seem bound to divide opinion.

READ SOME MORE

On the other hand, in the trio there’s an uncluttered openness, a spaciousness that’s got nothing to do with speed and a clarity, that places everything in perfect perspective.

url.ie/55ayOpens in new window ]

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor