Schumann – Piano Concerto in A minor; Piano Trio No.2
Alexander Melnikov; Isabelle Faust; Jean-Guihen Queyras; Freiburger Barockorchester; Pablo Heras-Casado
harmonia mundi HMC 902198
This is the second installment of Schumann’s three trios and concertos. The first (HMC 902196) contained the violin concerto and the third trio Op.110 in performances that were game changing with a soft attack and sensitive textures.
This orchestra as we know by now, with their aesthetic firmly based, seeks to recreate the sound of early music in its time. The open mesh to their sound illuminates this middle-romantic deployment of pre-modern instruments. With valveless horns and trumpets, woodier woodwinds, sinewy gut strings and taut percussion, this must be the sound the composer knew wherein no instrument is buried. Schumann in his concertos sought to harmonize the sound of soloist and orchestra rather than throw them against each other as Brahms did later. The pianoforte employed in this concert performance, recorded in the Berlin Philharmonie, is an 1837 Érard. The enthusiastic performance is a revelation, driven by Spanish conductor Heras-Casado’s well-paced tempi, always attentive to the felicities of Schumann’s score. All aspects considered, this is decidedly a benchmark account.
Exactly as I noted in my May 2015 WholeNote review of their performance of the Third Trio, “Faust and her colleagues radiate ardor and optimism, performing with sensitivity, sincere musicality and flawless ensemble that hold the listener’s attention.” Their choice of instruments is interesting: Melnikov’s pianoforte is again the Streicher (1847 Vienna), Faust’s violin the 1704 Strad and Queras’ cello the 1696 Gioffredo Cappa.
