Florian Uhlig Schumann

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 on album (e.g. “Robert Schumann and the Sonata”, “The Young Piano Virtuoso”, “Schumann in Vienna”, “Schumann and Counterpoint”, “Variations”) 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 include premiere recordings. The booklets by Joachim Draheim, who discovered and/or edited a number of the works, shed light on the biographical and musicological background to the works thus coupled.

This collection of Schumann’s “complete works for piano and orchestra” is more complete than usual, with the inclusion of two conjectural reconstructions: one from sketches, the other from a combination of sketches and a reworking of an existing solo piano piece. Excluded is the piano arrangement of the Konzertstück for four horns, which Joachim Draheim’s excellent booklet notes are adamant has no connection with Schumann, either Robert or Clara.

Robert und Clara Schumann waren mit Sicherheit außergewöhnliche Eltern nicht nur nach den Maßstäben des 19. Jahrhunderts. Vor allem fällt auf, wie viel Zeit Robert insbesondere seiner Tochter Marie, der Erstgeborenen, gewidmet hat. Marie, Elise und Julie sind die Töchter, für die Schumann kleine Stückchen komponierte und mit denen er auch musizierte. Und das nicht nur auf Kleinkind-Niveau. Diese CD ist eine entzückende Rundschau über die Stücke und Melodien, die Schumann mit seinen Mädchen entwickelte und lässt beinahe Schumann sche Familienatmosphäre wiedererstehen. Wie nicht anders zu erwarten, sind eine ganze Reihe von Ersteinspielungen auf dieser CD vertreten.

Hänssler Classic is proud to release the fourth volume in what will be the only true complete recording of Schumann's music for piano solo. On the 4th volume ("Schumann in Vienna"), Florian Uhlig presents piano works composed in Vienna in 1838/39, amongst others "Faschingsschwank aus Wien op.26" and "Humoreske B Flat Major op.20". As was the case in the three previous installments, this program is arranged "thematically". Each volume will contain unpublished works or fragments. Schumann left many extended fragments that can easily be reconstructed without daring speculations, and in such cases, these fragments deserve to be heard and included in our presentation of Schumann complete works for the piano..

«Uhlig does Schumann proud in every respect. He mantains an admirable balance of brilliance and good sense, with superb voicing, delineating every silken skein of the cat-'s cradle textures with clarity and grace. And though the music celebrates virtuosity - to which Uhlig rises impeccably - there's still a touching humility to his interpretations.»

This is the 3rd instalmant of the first true complete recording of Schumann’s piano works and features several world premieres. «Uhlig's playing is in many ways exemplary: graceful, light of touch, strong of srping and in excellent control of voicing while navigating Schumann's intricate textures…[His] approach is unsentimental…»

This is the first volume of Hänssler CLASSIC’s complete recording of Schumann’s piano works, a project that has not been accomplished before. Each CD will feature at least one world premiere recording. Here we have the premiere of Presto possible in F minor. Florian Uhlig is one of the most distinguished young pianists and his interpretations are based on the new critical edition of Schumann’s piano works.

Several attempts have been made over the last sixty years or so to record all Robert Schumann’s works for solo piano, a fascinating cosmos full of variety that ranges from extremely virtuosic pieces for the concert hall to valuable literature for piano tuition. This attractive but difficult quest has unfortunately been marked by a lack of the necessary care, not to mention purely artistic deficiencies, so that none of the releases deserves the name “complete recording”. Since Schumann published several works (Impromptus op. 5, Davidsbündlertänze op. 6, Symphonic Studies op. 13, Concert sans Orchestre or Sonata in F Minor op. 14 and Kreisleriana op. 16) in two more or less different versions, it is not legitimate in a “complete recording” to include only one of the versions, let alone to amalgamate two of them.