Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze; Carnaval; Papillons

There is something essentially pure about the playing of Charles Rosen: no nonsense but a great deal of poetic feeling and a beautiful capturing of Schumann’s fictional personalities, the exuberant Florestan and the dreamy Eusebius, which are so central to both the Davidsbündlertänze and Carnaval. Rosen is an exemplary scholar as well and some textual differences on this recording (for example numbers Eight and Nine of the Davidsbündler) are interesting and convincing. Casadesus is equally spirited in Papillons, but generally more prosaic and less controlled than Rosen.

Our rating

5

Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm

COMPOSERS: Schumann
LABELS: Sony
WORKS: Davidsbündlertänze; Carnaval; Papillons
PERFORMER: Charles Rosen (piano), Robert Casadesus (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: SBK 68345 ADD (1961/63)

There is something essentially pure about the playing of Charles Rosen: no nonsense but a great deal of poetic feeling and a beautiful capturing of Schumann’s fictional personalities, the exuberant Florestan and the dreamy Eusebius, which are so central to both the Davidsbündlertänze and Carnaval. Rosen is an exemplary scholar as well and some textual differences on this recording (for example numbers Eight and Nine of the Davidsbündler) are interesting and convincing. Casadesus is equally spirited in Papillons, but generally more prosaic and less controlled than Rosen. The sound quality in Rosen’s performances (from 1963) is reasonably good, but there is more hiss over Casadesus. Jessica Duchen

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