Schumann: Violin Concerto & Works for Violin and Piano by Cl
PENTATONE
CD
$19.99Apr 03, 2026
Violinist Midori, Festival Strings Lucerne under the direction of Daniel Dodds, and pianist Özgür Aydin present an album of Schumann: Violin Concerto & Works for Violin and Piano by Clara and Robert Schumann, highlighting two deeply connected artistic voices. At the centre is Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto in D Minor, composed in 1853 but withheld from publication for more than eighty years after Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim questioned it's place within his legacy. Long clouded by it's troubled history and a problematic 1937 premiere, the concerto has only recently gained recognition as a powerful and distinctive late work, valued today for it's emotional depth and expressive candour. The programme also includes Robert Schumann's 5 Pieces in Folk Style, Op. 102, and 3 Romances, Op. 94 - lyrical miniatures from his remarkably productive year of 1849, alongside Clara Schumann's 5 Romances, Op. 22, dedicated to Joachim and now fully restored to the repertoire after decades of neglect. Together, these works reveal an artistic world shaped by intimacy, sincerity, and clarity of expression, echoing Robert Schumann's belief that the artist's task is "to send light into the darkness of men's hearts." This recording marks the PENTATONE debut of Midori and Özgür Aydin. Midori, an internationally celebrated violinist with numerous awards and performances on the world's leading stages, brings her expressive depth and technical mastery, complemented by Aydin's sensitive virtuosity at the piano. Festival Strings Lucerne and their artistic director, Daniel Dodds, have been collaborating successfully since 2012, bringing this orchestra international acclaim, and establishing themselves as one of the world's leading chamber orchestras, both on the concert platform and in the recording studio. The album showcases the interplay of Clara's tender lyricism with Robert's late works, offering a vivid, emotionally resonant, and technically brilliant portrait of the Schumanns' late musical world.
After having recorded Mozart’s last three violin concertos in 2014, Arabella Steinbacher, the Festival Strings Lucerne and its leader Daniel Dodds now complete the cycle by presenting Mozart’s less well-known, but equally enchanting Violin Concertos 1 & 2, together with his Adagio in E Major and Rondos in C Major and B-flat Major. Steinbacher plays the cadenzas by Wolfgang Schneiderhan, who co-founded the Festival Strings Lucerne in 1956. Another exciting aspect of this album is that she plays for the first time on the “Ex Benno Walter“ Strad from 1718. Arabella Steinbacher, a multiple award-winner with an extensive PENTATONE discography, is accompanied by the esteemed players of the Festival Strings Lucerne and their leader and artistic director Daniel Dodds.