If I Could Choose Only One Work By...SCHUMANN
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.พ. 2023
- It Would Have To Be...Fantasie in C major, Op. 17
1. Ravel: Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Ballet)
2. Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
3. Schubert: String Quintet in C major
4. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
5. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”
6. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
7. Debussy: Preludes for Piano (Books 1 & 2)
8: Handel: Saul
9. Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro
10. Brahms: String Sextet No. 2 in G major
11. Vaughan Williams: Job
12. Bach: Goldberg Variations
13. R. Strauss: Four Last Songs
14. Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust
15. Haydn: “Paris” Symphonies (Nos. 82-87)
16. Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen
17. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor
18. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
19. Chopin: Preludes
20. Verdi: Rigoletto
21. Roussel: Symphony No. 2
22. Copland: Appalachian Spring (complete original ballet)
23. Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 and 2
24. Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
25. Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2
26. Rimsky-Korsakov: Opera Suites (Scottish National Orchestra/Järvi) Chandos
27. Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire
28. Smetana: Ma Vlást
29. Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain
30. Bizet: Carmen
31. Elgar: In the South
32. Sullivan: The Mikado
33. Dvořák: Symphony No. 8; Cello Concerto (Piatigorsky/Munch/Boston Symphony) RCA
34. Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies
35. Monteverdi: Orfeo
36. Scarlatti: Sonatas - เพลง
The Piano Quintet. Bigger than a string quartet. Bigger than a piano trio. It pushed chamber music into a scope and size and beauty of expression that feels like one of the key moments in the evolution of the Romantic style.
His masterpiece no doubt. Perhaps not the more typical Schumann but...I would save this one
I think a lot of people got into chamber music via that irresistible Op.44. It's my preferred choice also.
A masterpiece no doubt, but Schubert composed one first, so if anything it did the genre "pushing."
Just gonna drop this in the comments, since even amongst Schumann fans, I think it's overlooked:
The Scenes from Faust!
If the Fantasy in C represents mastery of larger-scale forms on the piano, and Dichterliebe (surely) for the lieder sub-genre, then the Faust scenes demonstrate the same for dramatic work. I'd like to point out that within Schumann's first 10 years as a composer, he'd already worked on oratorios, lied, chamber music, concerti, symphonies, an an opera, in addition to his numerous keyboard works (one genre didn't significantly proceed another except in his early published output, which favored the piano, just as all published music did at the time).
I've always felt the Fantasie is his greatest work. The other pieces have beautiful moments that come and go too quickly sometimes but this fantasie is to me is the one of the most passionate pieces of music I've ever heard. Its alwys been a real favorite of mine. The first bars kind of suck you into a whirlpool of feeling and Schuman get a hold of you and doesn't let you go until he's completed taking you on a long emotional trip. Unlike some of his other stuff, this one is built right it doesn't dump you out on the shoulder after the first curve, he keeps you buckled in. Great choice.
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I still say the Piano Concerto! It's one of the great Romantic concertos ever written.
Beethoven Hummel Chopin and Mendelssohn would like to have a chat with you
Totally agree with this choice. The Op 17 Fantasie is truly the best example of the "Florestan & Eusebius" sides of Schumann. The first movement was, as Schumann wrote, "the most passionate I have ever composed," and the final movement is nothing short of sublime.
Schumann is my favorite romantic composer. I don't think anyone else from that era did such superb work in so many genres. I even think his opera and choral works are rather underrated. That's one thing that makes picking a single work nearly impossible. Especially when it comes to his best handful of solo piano pieces (I'd nominate the Fantasy, Davidsbundlertanze, Symphonic Etudes, Kreisleriana, and Kinderszenen) it feels like choosing among equals. I feel similarly about his best handful of song cycles. That leaves his orchestral and chamber music, from which I think the piano concerto and piano quintet are the top contenders, and I adore both. I'm tempted to go with the piano quintet simply because that's the last one I listened to, and because it has an almost Mozartian element in its final movements' thematic synthesis that really tickles the same deep-down part of my brain that causes the finale of Mozart's 41st to be one of "transcendental" experiences for me (the piano quintet isn't QUITE that, but it's close!).
I have to say "Hats off!" - the Fantasy in C, Op. 17 is the greatest piano sonata that isn't a piano sonata ever written by anybody. Great as Schumann's character pieces are, the Fantasy is a masterpiece on a truly grand scale.
If I had to name a non-piano piece by Schumann that is anywhere nearly as ambitious and also successfully executed, that would have to be the Scenes from Goethe's Faust, where Schumann is thinking really, really big, but not letting himself get bogged down, either - he just chooses the scenes that appeal to him and arranges them in a sequence that makes sense and is musically satisfying. But much as I love the Scenes from Goethe's Faust, the Fantasy in C is admittedly more suitable to represent Schumann at his best and most individual.
Dear David, thanks for this beautiful tribute to Schumann!
I would choose Kinderszenen. It is a lovely piece, full of great tunes, very representative of Schumann's style.
Dave, watching you disect and discuss a new, colorful, delectable box of classical goodies is better than watching Dave Portnoy's pizza reviews. I'm already salivating over it.
A great choice, and I think it would have been mine too. A close second would have been Dichterliebe, to my mind the greatest song cycle ever written.
For John Williams, how about the soundtrack to the Empire Strikes Back. I definitely feel that he’s at his best in film music despite his more “serious” concert pieces. All the best leitmotifs are in play by the end of this movie including the much used and transformed Imperial March and the gorgeously Lydian Yoda’s theme. Although some lesser known and some simply lesser movies have wonderful Williams scores, this one so perfectly matches the film and the film is iconic (Many would argue largely because of the score).
I’m also very surprised that a piano work was not more commonly suggested. I think it’s because a lot of us are not really thinking about the criteria for this series. Instead, we more often opt for those works that are more famous or that we just like more. I would urge the fellowship to more carefully consider what work or types of work are most representative of the composer.
Kreisleriana because it is the ideal caleidoscope of the german romanticism where music, philosophy and litterature dialogue as equal partners
Yes, the Fantasy in C is Schumann's greatest piano work, something which only Beethoven could have dreamt of had he lived beyond 1840.
I'm not one for box sets, as I've stated here ad nauseum, but that is a very colorful looking one and would be quite attractive on the shelf, I think. And since it is all Schumann, I could stick it under S in the library, and not have to separate it from the others because it has works by 50 different composers in it. One artist/one composer is the best way.
Another special thing about the Fantasy, Op. 17, is that it has brought the best out of so many great artists.
Of the old-school guys, there are wonderful versions by such vastly different pianists as Horowitz (Carnegie Hall - An Historic Return), Gieseking, Richter...and many more. And newer ones like Pollini.
His piano works are special - no one is like him. Great choice and one that I haven’t heard - nice!
I'll go with his Piano Concerto. I know it's very well known but that's for a good reason. It's the most poetic ever composed.
The Fantasie in C major gave my beginner head a headache. I much preferred, and would vote to save, Album: Serkin / Schumann: Piano Concerto - Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (1988) with Rudolf Serkin on piano for the Piano Concerto in A minor (30 min) and the Piano Quintet in E-flat Major (30 min) which is played w/ the Budapest Quartet - I believe both of these were recorded in 1965. Serkin never got to showy or noisy, and the playing stayed in the pocket with the other instruments, instead of competing with them.
Good choice, of course, it's a wonderful piece in its "durchaus fantastisch" manner, and it sums up much of what characterises his music further on, e. g. the Beethoven reference "Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder". Perhaps it's my being a string player that led me to choose the piano quartet. In my opinion, his chamber music efforts are among his most remarkable music. The piano quartet works on so many levels -- melodically, contrapuntally, formally -- as well as on a personal level, alluding to Clara's type of virtuosity and his own patience being tested (he quotes from "Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten"). The slow movement is a marvel in mellifluous melody, and the dream-like transition to the finale is simply amazing. Well, I could go on ... This is such a cruel game to play.
Yes, seems a very appropriate choice for a composer whose output was centred round the piano, and a very inventive work in both form and style.
This is such a great series!
Thank you.
Yes my choice too, for same reasons he is a piano guy but this piece takes you almost to a symphonice level.
Love the Brendel recording btw
I was the one who suggested the Six Canonic Etudes, which no one plays because they either have to be transcribed or played on a pedal piano, which nobody has. However, I think the Fantasy, Op.17 is a great choice, and i think it is the best and most characteristic work among his first thirty or so works for solo piano. Great shout out by the way to the Songs of Dawn, which are marvelous, and I also love his Three Fantasies, Op.111, which also no one ever plays for some reason.
David!/Mr. Hurwitz!/Dave!! This is the piece I have no trouble in choosing for Schumann - and I thought I'd have been the only one to automatically go to the Fantasie. This piece has the hallowed sections that could only belong to each of us individually. It is a very personal work.
Exaactly what I would have picked! My first recording was Curzon's on London.
Watching the video and reading the comments, I am thrilled to see I'm not the only one who is crazy about Schumann's Op. 17. I agree that Schumann's greatest body of work is is piano music, and I think the Op. 17 is not only Schumann's greatest work for solo piano, I think it is one of the two greatest works for the instrument written by anyone! (The other being Beethoven's Piano Sonata #32, Op. 111.)
It’s definitely a wonderful work and hearing your explanation and reasoning, I better understand this choice, by the end of the video, than I did at the beginning! My immediate pick was for Kreisleriana…still my absolute favorite work by Schumann…but as you’ve pointed out previously, it’s not about our personal favorites. Thanks as always. Every day I look forward, so much to seeing your new posts and learning from their content. Best wishes from California.
So many wonderful works to choose from. I'd nominate the Symphonic Etudes. Romantic, exciting, and remarkably modern-sounding in places. And the posthumous variations are piercingly lovely, as well. Pollini's '81 recording takes some beating - and DG recorded him well, for a change.
Years ago I purchased the complete Robert Schumann piano works done by Jorg Demus which are very good. I think Demus is often overlooked..worked for a lot of smaller labels Vox etc. It is always a pleasure to listen to you on a daily basis. Jerel
Demus’s recordings of the Schumann quartet and quintet, performed with the Walter Barylli quartet, are truly sublime
Yes Yes you got it right here! When a discussion of Schumann in relation to this series broke out in the comments, I found myself conflicted...I love the symphonies and overtures, but the crap he gets for his orchestration kind of negates them per the requirements of Cancrizan...so it would have to be one of the great lieder or piano works, and the Fantasy in C is just right for this, and you made a compelling case for it!
schumann .... the scenes of children op 15 ..... which tells us several little stories ..... clara haskil and alfred cortot are my favorite interpreters for his miniatures ....
For Poulenc, I think it really ought to be his organ concerto. Poulenc was a two-faced composer, and the challenge is to find a piece that encompasses both his religious and his fairground style. You might argue that the Concert champêtre also meets this criterium (and it arguably is the superior work), but the organ concerto does it more emphatically
I love the organ concerto, but my money’s on the Gloria.
@@rbmelk7083 Another fine choice. Poulenc was a great vocal composer.
Great choice, although at the end of the day I’d go for one of the song collections/ cycles. Tel jour telle nuit is the best one probs, but if you want a bit more fairground with the gorgeous intense stuff too, Banalités might be the way to go?
I agree that the only way to go with Schumann is a piano piece. This is the core of his repertoire. However, I originally was leaning toward Carnival. I took your advice though and took the time to actually relisten to the Fantasiie in the superb performance you sited here. Wow! Were you right! I didn't realize how much it crystalizes what makes Schumann Schumann. The form is totally original and probably wouldn't work for anyone else. But somehow here it is absolutely perfect. Now I can't stop listening to Uhlig's amazing set of the complete Schumann piano music! What a marvel! It deserves it's own video extolling its virtues! I haven't wallowed in Schumann's world like this in ages and I'm having such a good time!
Great! Enjoy!
The Vorraber complete Schumann piano music on Thorofon is also excellent.
Dave, I absolutely love Schumann’s 2nd Symphony in C Major. Some recordings are certainly better than others though. I particularly like Bernstein’s NY Phil. recording, 2017 Sony Remaster (white and baby blue cover). I’m not sure if it’s on disc, I use Spotify. Enjoying the video series!
@@erikthenorviking8251 I recently discovered Von Dohnanyi’s Cleveland recording of Schumann’s 2nd on Decca-it’s fabulous!! Also, neat observation there-I’m currently reading about Florestan and Eusebius, hah!
@@erikthenorviking8251 Yes, I agree. I recently heard Schumann 2 live at La Scala in Milan and fell in love.
Excellent choice for Schumann. I have to check out that box from Hänssler. Meanwhile, a further suggestion for the series, with Palestrina as the composer and the work chosen the Missa Papae Marcelli. This is as good an example as any of the polyphony championed by Palestrina. The pivotal place this mass occupies in the history of Western music has perhaps been somewhat exaggerated (?), but regardless of that it is a superbly beautiful work.
Did not know this piece, mainly because as a cellist I just don't listen to very many solo piano pieces by Schumann. I mainly know his music from the stuff you would play as a cellist--chamber music, symphonies and cello solo pieces (concerto, pieces in folk style, etc.). All I can say is WOW, it is now completely obvious to me why you think Schumann is a "piano guy", this piece displays a level of imagination and craft that I have simply not heard in anything I have played by him. Have no clue if you are right that this is the "quintessential piece" but was completely entranced by it, thanks so much!
Thanks for listening to something new!
@@DavesClassicalGuide Wanted to follow up by saying that I remember from one of your videos that you had been criticized for this series, I don't understand it, I think it is among my favorite that you have done. Especially in the pieces that you have suggested that I did not know and less famous, I have felt like I have learned something new about the composer that I did not realize in some cases something important. Keep going, can't wait for future picks.
....well....I would argue for Dichterliebe - because it is the most 'perfect' of song cycles, and has an even greater sense of structural cohesion than the Schubert cycles. I know you are not a huge fan of lieder, but if we are protecting classical music from a mad deity, then one example of lieder is not unreasonable - after all we've had chamber, orchestral, opera......
...and Lieder--the 4 Last Songs. Sorry, but I don't buy it, and my own feelings about Lieder have nothing to do with it. Wait until we get to Hugo Wolff. If we ever do...
I agree. To be interested in Lieder you need to be interested in the poetry and, in particular, how the composer sets the poems to music. (Vaughan Williams spent his entire life looking for the right texts). The way Schumann sets these gorgeous poems by Heine is unbelievably original and beautiful. Listening to this cycle along with the texts (always necessary with Lieder) is an incredibly rich experience and following the text along with the music adds a whole new dimension to the experience. That said, I’d probably put the Fantasy as runner up!
My choice would also be Dichterliebe. Not only are the songs beautiful in themselves, but many of the accompaniments showcase Schumann's romantic writing for the piano.
@@ftumschk I would not have chosen Dichterliebe, but I would say the compression of these pieces is incredible and a fascinating evolution from Schubert. As you said, the piano writing is very characteristic. It’s so good, it would sound wonderful even without the singing, although I’m glad I for it anyway.
@@GG-cu9pg _"It’s so good, it would sound wonderful even without the singing"_ - I've often thought that myself :)
that box set would be a nightmare gift for your father ! the ultimate coal in your stocking bundt cake/torture device ! 😅
"Its gotta be a piano piece"! And, they require more attention! And they reward the attention!
An interesting and surprising choice, but a quite quite wonderful piece! Although I'd have been tempted to go with Dichterliebe, as the exemplar of Schumann's song style.
If/when you get to Rachmaninov I'd choose the Symphonic Dances. I wonder what others would pick.
And in other news: has anybody heard anything of the new Mozart violin concertos disc by Gottfried von der Goltz with the Freiburger Barockorchester under Kristian Bezuidenhout? They played some on the radio last night and it was very hard-driven and harsh. Really quite unpleasant, and very very far from the refined classical style we're used to. Positive reviews, of course, as there is of anything that claims to challenge orthodoxy. But I switched off because it was simply not nice.
A song cycle would have been fitting too....more songs need to be saved for eternity.
And with a composer like Schumann, they ARE piano works as well.
@@bbailey7818 That applies to many composers, but I am a fan of Lieder.
My choice too :)
I prefer Dichterliebe, but I bear no grudge(!)
I see what you did there!
Hands down, a tie between the "Konzertstuck" for Four Horns & Orchestra, and the "Rhenish" Symphony. That said, I do like the Fantasie in C major. Then again, I like much of his piano music.
I don't, actually. I'd go for the Konzertstuck, but it's not about my personal choices.
Think about it, Cancrizans, you get this work, but lose the Concerto for Four Horns.
I wonder how many CDs he has!
No one knows - not even him!
Once David said that past 70 000 CDs you start having problem with finding stuff...
Dave - forgive me, not entirely on topic, but have you heard Helene Grimaud's "The Romantic Piano" CD on Erato/Warner classics Any comments, thoughts on this recording? Thank you.