For the second volume in the Schumann Collection launched with his brother Pierre, Theo Fouchenneret has surrounded himself with a fine team of chamber musicians to immortalise the series of works for wind instruments and piano from 1849. Like a gallery of legendary characters, oboe, horn and clarinet follow one another, giving way to the astonishing Andante and Variations for two pianos, two cellos and horn, in which the sketches follow one another with the intensity of a tale as thrilling as it is mysterious…

For over 60 years, repeated efforts have been made to capture on recording Robert Schumann’s Complete Works for Piano solo, a fascinatingly broad and varied spectrum ranging from highly virtuosic pieces for the concert hall and valuable literature for teaching purposes. This attractive and yet challenging assignment was not always approached with the necessary intellectual rigor, quite apart from any purely artistic shortcomings, and so none of these sets can justly be deemed “complete”. Schumann had published a string of works in two more or less divergent versions, so that it is highly questionable whether an edition can be labelled “Complete Recordings” if it only contains one of those versions or worse still, makes a misguided attempt to combine two of them. Meanwhile, works that were published at remote locations or remained unpublished have hitherto been taken into account only in exceptional cases.

The first true complete recording of Robert Schumann’s works for piano solo on 17 albums (in 15 volumes), played by Florian Uhlig, seeks for the first time to offer imaginative compilations containing all original works for pianoforte written between 1830 (Abegg Variations op. 1) and 1854 (Ghost Variations) according to the newest critical editions and/or first editions. Several of these albums also contain premiere recordings, often of fragments that were amenable to completion. After the project was completed in 2021, it was evident from a further critical inspection of the five Studien- und Skizzenbücher held in the University and State Library in Bonn, and from the volumes of the complete piano works for two hands that have so far appeared in this comprehensive and groundbreaking edition, that there is a string of either very short complete or longer fragmentary pieces dating from about 1830 to 1837 that are worthy of attention.

The present release is an innovative and sensitive encounter between poetry and music: a double album with Robert Schumann's song cycle "Dichterliebe" in an unusual arrangement for cello and guitar. Album 1 features the music, and album 2 features the music in combination with the poems by Heinrich Heine on which the composition is based, read by the well-known actor Hanns Zischler. This unique project is rounded off with the cycle "Über Liebe und Tod", four compositions by Michaela Catranis (*1985).

Schumann’s studies into counterpoint during 1845 climaxed in what he described as a ‘Fugenpassion’, with the resulting character pieces becoming a significant cornerstone of the organ repertoire. They are performed here by Tom Winpenny, who has also written the booklet notes, on the historic and recently restored Furtwängler organ in Gronau, Germany.

Within the realm of Romantic piano music, where new discoveries are constantly just around the corner, the contribution of Robert Schumann has always played a major part. True, he cannot rival the aura of Chopin’s works, of which Ignaz Friedman asserted that not only had Chopin opened the piano with them, he had closed it again. (Schumann paid his own tribute in his reverent review of Chopin’s op. 2 of 1831, the Variations on Mozart’s “Reich mir die Hand, mein Leben”). Nor did Schumann embed in the history of piano playing such milestones of technical mastery and manual dexterity as Liszt who – inspired by Paganini’s concerts and enabled by the double-escapement action developed by Sébastien Erard in 1821 – had practically reinvented the instrument by the time he wrote his Etudes d’exécution transcendante in 1837. And neither the sprightliness of Felix Mendelssohn’s keyboard idiom nor Charles-Valentin Alkan’s exaltation of virtuosity are characteristic of Schumann’s piano music, even if he proves in his Abegg Variations op. 1 (1830) and his Toccata op. 7 (1832) that he brilliantly commanded both approaches to the instrument.

Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Tiffany Poon, "classical pianist of the new generation", with this deluxe vinyl edition of her PENTATONE debut album Diaries: Schumann. Through her vivid interpretation of Robert Schumann's masterpieces, Tiffany invites us on a journey through her musical diary. This album topped the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums charts in the first weeks of it's release. With a selection ranging from the introspective Kinderszenen to the passionate Davidsbundlertanze, she creates a tapestry that reflects the different aspects of her life and her personal growth. With this album, Tiffany invites listeners to connect with themselves and be vulnerable and imaginative, like Schumann's Eusebius and Florestan. This album also encourages daydreaming in open spaces, "feeling all the feels", without any judgement. Experience the brilliance of this rising star as she shares her innermost thoughts and musical prowess through the captivating melodies of Schumann. This special vinyl product contains a 12" booklet with exclusive photo content of Tiffany. Born in Hong Kong, Tiffany Poon has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and China since she was first accepted to the Juilliard pre-college program at the age of eight. She made her PENTATONE debut in 2024 with Diaries.

The Young Schumann, the new release by British pianist Charles Owen, is a musical narrative of Robert Schumann's early career, featuring works written in the 1830s when the composer was in his 20s. His first two published works, Abegg Variations and Papillons, the impetuous six Intermezzi, Op. 4, and the characterful Carnaval, Op. 9, are all fuelled by some of Schumann's compositional hallmarks: his imagination and attraction to the fantastical, his love of ciphers and cryptograms, and his frequent quoting of each work within the others.

Building a new organ is always an exciting journey for an organ builder. What should a new organ look like, how should it sound, how should it fit into the church interior, what traditional reference points are there, what should be played on this new organ in addition to the important church music, how historical, how modern may the action, wind system and finally the entire pipework be built. In the Church of the Four Evangelists in the Protestant parish of Berlin-Pankow, the requirements were clear. An organ by the famous Berlin organ builder Carl August Buchholz (1796 - 1884) no longer existed in the church. Is it possible to rebuild a Buchholz organ in such a way that it seems possible that C.A. Buchholz would have built this new organ in exactly the same way in 1840, for example? We organ builders at the Wegscheider organ workshop set ourselves this special task, having already restored and reconstructed several Buchholz organs, visited and examined other surviving Buchholz organs and were very familiar with this particular organ sound language of the first half of the 19th century in the Prussian lands. A suitable specification with 27 stops was created, an early Schwellwerk with side doors (entirely in the Buchholz style) was designed, the metal and wooden pipes as well as the reed stops were built according to the models and the voicing was adapted to the church interior in terms of response, sound volume and dynamics. Particular emphasis was placed on the feel of the keys, which must harmonise with what the player hears. The aim was not to build a particularly light action, but rather one that harmonised with the early romantic sound. The historical keyboard aesthetics with the stop action, the music desk, the swell lever, the historical proportions between the manual pianos and the pedal keyboard also serve to immerse the performer completely in the early romantic tonal spirit. Kristian Wegscheider, master organ builder Dresden, Henry Fairs, Professor of Artistic Organ Playing at the Berlin University of the Arts, plays the complete works for organ by Robert Schumann.

This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.

Lars Vogt (1970-2022) early recordings collected here provide a document of an artist who always remained authentic, both to himself and to music. Lars Vogt never sought absolute truth, but truthfulness instead meant all the more to him. The man and the artist were always very close, never currying favour and never detached from the world. He was, instead, open and natural. "It's incredibly gratifying when you notice that you can perhaps light a little spark, a little flame for music in people, and when music helps you to find the path to your own soul."

For five decades Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) held a central position in the musical world. That centrality was reflected in a series of top orchestral and operatic posts and in his interpretations, free of self-regarding eccentricities. His modest but highly effective conducting technique also made him the ideal recording artist. Sawallisch was a Bavarian born in Munich, city of orchestras and a great opera company, which he headed for 21 years. He started his career as an outstanding pianist and remained a sought-after accompanist to great Lieder singers and instrumentalists. Volume 1 of a complete conspectus of his Warner Classics recordings (made for Electrola and EMI Classics between 1954 to 1997) includes wonderful Lieder and song collaborations, as well as famous concerto accompaniments for eminent soloists and a heartwarming traversal of Schubert's secular vocal and sacred choral music with Bavarian Radio colleagues. But the main focus among the 65 discs is on his symphonic achievements: Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner and Dvor�k - the latter's Eighth Symphony was his first published recording, from 1954. Richard Strauss, an early influence, is strongly represented. This 65CD-box brings together all the non-operatic recordings that the German conductor and pianist Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) made in the years from 1954 to 1997 for EMI Classics and Electrola (now Warner Classics).

Beatrice Rana combines Clara Wieck-Schumann and Robert Schumann's piano concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin In an interview with the New York Times, Rana, who called the piano concerto by Clara Wieck "a genius work in many ways," said: "I think that it's very, very underestimated - the intellectual value of this concerto in the history of music. It's fascinating to see that she conceived of this music free from any limitations; that as a teenager she composed an uninterrupted concerto with no breaks between the movements. We think of Liszt's First Piano Concerto as revolutionary in that regard, but Clara wrote hers so much earlier, unbroken and with connecting themes linking the movements."

Flautist Emmanuel Pahud and pianist Eric Le Sage play arrangements of short pieces and songs by four German composers of the mid-19th century: Robert Schumann and his wife Clara (born Clara Wieck), and Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny.

Major composers of the earlier Romantic period somewhat neglected the flute as a solo instrument, even though there were a number of virtuoso players and the flute was popular with amateurs. The fact is that the instrument presented technical difficulties in terms of consistency of timbre and intonation; these were not satisfactorily resolved until 1847, when Theobald Boehm, a German manufacturer of wind instruments, produced the revolutionary prototype of the modern flute. The album comprises: Robert Schumann's three Romances op 94 - originally written for oboe and transcribed for flute in the 1950s by Jean-Pierre Rampal - and his three Fantasiestücke op 73, originally conceived for clarinet; Clara Schumann's three Romances op 22, which she dedicated to the great violinist Joseph Joachim; arrangements of six lieder by Fanny Mendelssohn, and the sonata in F that Felix Mendelssohn composed as a violin work in 1838.

Intense, passionate, and impeccable in its musical disciplines, the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet "consistently finds a balance between projecting musical structure and conveying immediacy." Confirming that verdict from the New York Times is this 23CD collection, encompassing all the recordings the ensemble made between 1996 and 2018.

The Artemis Quartet began life in 1989 and developed a particular reputation in the central Austro-German repertoire. If Beethoven justly asserts a powerful presence, the scope of this collection extends as far as Eastern Europe and South America and well into the 20th century. Over the period of nearly a quarter of a century documented in this box, there were changes in the Artemis Quartet's lineup, but as founding cellist Eckart Runge explains, this "brought new inspiration - an opportunity to broaden horizons and introduce fresh ideas."

The ensemble suffered a tragic loss with the untimely death of violist Friedemann Weigle in 2015. Just days earlier, the Artemis had completed a recording of Dvořák's lyrical and poignant 'American' Quartet; it is now released for the very first time. This landmark box is completed by a comprehensive booklet which includes reminiscences from members of the Artemis Quartet and from sound engineers who collaborated with them.

His exceptional touch and sense of phrasing, his deep and personal understanding of the most varied repertoires, or even the legendary trio he formed together with Jacques Thibaud and Pablo Casals, made Alfred Cortot the greatest pianist of his time. Master of many disciples, notably the brilliant Dinu Lipatti, Samson François and Clara Haskil, Cortot also had a lasting influence on the Russian piano school through Samuil Feinberg and Heinrich Neuhaus, the latter himself being the revered teacher of Sviatoslav Richter.

All of the recordings in this set had undergone careful sound restoration in 2012, in order to respect as closely as possible the original sound. The remastering was carried out under the expert control of Mr. Guthrie Luke, a former disciple of Alfred Cortot who attended many recording sessions by Cortot. These recordings do not represent a "complete" edition: the many rolls engraved by the artist for Duo-Art, Aeolian and Pleyela labels have not been reproduced here, most of them doubling the 78-RPM repertoire. The first recordings are acoustic; and the ones with an electric microphone appeared as early as 1926.

NOVELLETTEN OP.21 NACHTSTUCKE OP.23

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Cellist Gautier Capu�on is the constant presence in this programme of music by Robert Schumann. In the Cello Concerto his partners are Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and in a selection of chamber works his violinist brother Renaud and the pianist Martha Argerich. "Bernard Haitink is a wonderfully inspiring guide," says Gautier, "and Martha Argerich carries me along on the composer's waves of romanticism and passion." - Universally recognised as the finest cellist of his generation, Gautier Capu�on has a firm reputation as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He is a regular performer with the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, NHK Symphony, and at festivals such as Verbier and Lugano, and has won several awards at the ECHOS and the Victoires de la Musique.

Denmark’s leading pianist Amalie Malling was born in Germany of Danish parents. She started to play piano at the age of 6. In 1961 she moved to Denmark with her family and continued her study with composer/pianist Herman D. Koppel. Amalie graduated from the Hannover Conservatory of Music in Germany and studied further with Alfred Brendel. In 1972 she won the first prize in the Scandinavian Piano Competition. This is her first Kontrapunkt recording.

Kontrapunkt is proud to announce the release of Robert Schumann’s incidental music “Manfred” in the complete form. This is probably the only complete “Manfred” (digital) recording available on CD presently. The text used here is in German, revised by Dr. Dietrich Steinbeck for this recording. BSO’s Chief conductor Michael Schønwandt is Danish and just turned 40. Despite of his youth, Schønwandt has conducted most major orchestras in the world. He was the first Scandinavian conductor to conduct at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth in 1987. Earlier releases by Berliner Sinfonie Orchester with Michael Schønwandt: Ravel “Daphnis Et Chloé” (KPT 32152) and Berlioz “Requiem” (KPT 32143/4).

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Schumann, R.: Dichterliebe, Op. 48 / Liederkreis, Op. 39

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SCHUMANN, R.: Piano Trios No. 1, Op. 63 and No. 2, Op. 80

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