Harold Bauer plays Schumann Phantasiestücke (1/2)

Robert Schumann (1810-1856):
From Phantasiestücke (Fantastic pieces/Pièces fantastiques) opus 12:
1) Des Abends (Evening/Au soir), Sehr innig zu spielen (Con molto sentimento) 0:00
2) Aufschwung (Soaring/Essor), Sehr rasch (Molto vivo) 4:27
3) Warum? (Why?/Pourquoi?), Langsam und zart (Lento e teneramente) 7:42
4) Grillen (Whims/Caprices), Mit Humor (Con umore) 11:13

Harold Bauer (1873-1951), piano
Recorded in 1933.

Schumann's "Phantasiestücke" were inspired by the 1814 collection of novellas "Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier" by his favourite author, E.T.A. Hoffmann (actually jurist, author, composer, music critic, artist) and dedicated them to Fräulein Anna Robena Laidlaw (1819--1901), an accomplished and attractive 18-year old Scottish pianist with whom Schumann had carried on a brief flirtation.

Schumann composed the pieces with the characters Florestan and Eusebius in mind, representing the duality of his personality. Eusebius depicts the dreamer in Schumann while Florestan represents his passionate side. These two characters parley with one another throughout the collection, ending self-reflectively with Eusebius in "Ende vom Lied".

Видео Harold Bauer plays Schumann Phantasiestücke (1/2) канала pianopera