Wojciech Kocyan Plays Robert Schumann

DER ROSE PILGERFAHRT

LIEDERFRÜHLING 1840-1847 - CHO

FRÜHE VERSUCHE UND SPÄTE MEIST

CONCERTO FOR VIOLONCELLO & ORC

It is not without reason that the most recent album of French pianist Jean-Claude Henriot is dedicated entirely to Schumann's music. The artist considers him to be the first composer who explored the musical areas discovered by Beethoven. Through precise and sensitive interpretation of works by both composers, the pianist devotes himself to the search of a beautiful sound as reflection of speech and it's transcending qualities. The pieces presented on the album vary in terms of style, form and atmosphere. Kreisleriana, Op. 16, composed on the basis of contrasts and written under the influence of meetings with Chopin, refers to the literary output of E.T.A. Hoffmann and constitutes an opposite to both dark, ordered according to a completely different principle Nachtst�cke, Op. 23 (Schumann wrote, "While composing, I kept seeing funeral processions, coffins, unhappy, despairing people. While I was composing I was often so overcome that tears came forth...") and Geistervariationen from the last year of composing, which in turn are characterized with simplicity, calm and reflectiveness.

The year 1840 with reference to Robert Schumann's compositional legacy is colloquially referred to as the song year. It was then that Schumann composed a significant part of his compositions for voice and piano. The year 1840 is a breakthrough for the composer also for another reason. After many years, bringing only piano works, Schumann finally broke the peculiar routine and showed interest in a wider spectrum of genres. The present album from tenor Leszek Swidzinski, associated not only with the Warsaw opera stages, but also an excellent teacher, with the participation of pianist Zofia Antes, includes two popular cycles of Schuman songs: Liederkreis, Op. 39 and Dichterliebe, Op. 48.

The world of Robert Schumann occupies a notable place in the space of European Romanticism. His sstyle is distinguished by dedicating special attention to the nuances of spiritual life. “To send light into the darkness of men’s heart- such is the duty of the artist!”- that Schumann’s aphorism may be a motto of all his works. It is particularly the pieces composed in the 1830s that are most emotional, a part of which is presented on the album performed by famous Russian pianist Irina Petrova Chukovskaya. Irina Vladimirovna Petrova-Chukovskaya has had a long artistic path, typical for talented children in the USSR. She was born in Tashkent to a musical family. Already at the age of seven, she performed the Piano Concerto in D major by Joseph Haydn accompanied by the Tashkent Philharmonic Orchestra and at the age of twelve, she was admitted to the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Vera Vasilyevna Gornostaeva. Soon she performed her first concerto. Since 1985 she has been a soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic, and she actively performs in Russia and abroad. “Chukovskaya combines unprecedented technique with passionate and poetic musicality. Her repertoire is very extensive and her performances are often sensational.” (David Gilbert)

SCHUMANNS SCHATTEN

During his short and turbulent life, Robert Schumann often composed as if in a trance. This exuberance, this impulsivity is particularly apparent in his works for piano and orchestra, all closely connected to his love for Clara Wieck. - "A cross between symphony, concerto and great sonata, not a concerto for the virtuoso" was his aim - and this is brilliantly realized; however, these works require a virtuoso with nimble, as well as strong and sensitive fingers, a pianist able to recreate Schumann's unique romantic world. Gerhard Oppitz achieves this in exemplary fashion, flawlessly mastering the technical demands in an interpretation imbued with a very personal passion for one of our greatest composers - all the while supported by and in dialogue with an orchestra ideally suited to his vision: The Bamberger Symphoniker.

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A new entry in the series "Debuts," featuring pianists Marcin Zdunik and Aleksandra �Swigut.

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Zhang Cheng was born in China. He began his studies at the Shenzhen Conservatory and from 2007 to 2011 continued at the Texas Christian University School of Music with Tamas Ungar before studying at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Klaus Hellwig. He was advised by Menahem Pressler, Leon Fleisher, Paul Badura-Skoda, Dmitri Bashkirov and Elisso Virsaladze. Zhang Cheng was awarded the Clara Haskil Prize (and the Audience Prize) in 2011 and the Schumann Prize in 2016, prompting him to study the complete canon of his favorite composer. About his preference for Robert Schumann and his music, Zhang Cheng says: “There was no specific moment where I decided that I should study Schumann’s complete oeuvre. The reason that keeps me exploring his music is his humanity. In my opinion, Schumann is an extraordinarily free and generous personality. Most importantly, he allows himself not to be perfect and first and foremost to be who he is. Schumann was also an endless resource of inspiration for me in my search for my own identity.” In Europe, Zhang Cheng has performed at the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Chopin Festival in Nohant, the Verbier Festival, the September Music Festival in Montreux-Vevey, the International Music Festival in Berlin and at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. This recording was realized by Accentus Music in partnership with the Académie France-Chine. The academy was launched in 2018 by the outstanding pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei with the support of Cartier. The purpose of the academy is to promote music education and training, to encourage the emergence of highly talented young artists and to foster cultural exchange between Europe and China.

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