Robert Schumann; Franz Schubert - Piano Concerto; Moments musicaux (Rudolf Serkin)

Information

Composer: Robert Schumann; Franz Schubert

• Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
• Schumann - Konzertstück, Op. 92
• Schubert - 6 Moments musicaux, D. 780

Rudolf Serkin, piano

Philadelphia Orchestra

Eugene Ormandy, conductor

Date: 1964; 1952

Label: Sony

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Review

Rudolf Serkin’s gaunt tone and impassioned phrasing, along with Eugene Ormandy’s robust, alert support, have long distinguished this 1964 recording of Schumann’s A minor concerto as one of the catalog’s finest. And for years, the fluent and bracing Serkin/Ormandy performance of Schumann’s underrated G major Introduction and Allegro Appassionato served as the version of reference, and still does in many respects. Both recordings sound fuller and more vividly detailed in Sony’s newest transfers than in previous CD editions. However, the big news here concerns the very first CD release (I believe) of Serkin’s 1952 Schubert Moments Musicaux, originally coupled on LP with the same composer’s unfinished D. 840 “Relique” sonata.

Epic rigor governs Serkin’s lavishly nuanced approach to No. 1, so different from Schnabel’s forward moving impetuosity and lyrical fancy. Its basic tempo flows directly into No. 2, a full-bodied reading that proves how Serkin could spin out warm, ample-toned cantabile lines more often than he’s given credit for. He plays No. 3 simply and directly, with tiny, strategically placed rubato. No. 4 is surprisingly sedate and rhetorical, without sacrificing inner strength, while Serkin grasps No. 5’s tricky leaps with tigerish assurance. The pianist’s keen attention to voice leading and coiled intensity throughout No. 6 holds for the music’s loudest pronouncements and softest musings and compels the listener to pay undivided attention. The mono sonics are excellent for their vintage, capturing the pianist’s elusive sonority more accurately than many of his stereo releases do. Needless to say, this is a must-have for Serkin fans.

— Jed Distler

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Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, and left an array of acclaimed music in virtually all the forms then known. Schumann's published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many Lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Schumann suffered from a lifelong mental disorder, and died in 1856 without having recovered from his illness.

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Franz Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer who was extremely prolific during his short lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano music. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of the late Classical era and early Romantic era and is one of the most frequently performed composers of the early nineteenth century. His music is characterized by pleasing tunes while still has "a great wealth of technical finesse".

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Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. Born into a Russian Jewish family, he demonstrated exceptional musical talent from an early age, making his orchestral debut at twelve. He studied piano with Richard Robert and composition with Joseph Marx and Arnold Schoenberg before establishing an international concert career. In 1939, he became a U.S. citizen and settled in Philadelphia, teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, he continued performing and teaching until declining health led to his retirement.

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