Recording
Title: Kresileriana, Fantasy Op. 17
Performer: Evgeny Kissin
Year: 2004
Length: 34 minutes
Review
Another pretty great set of piano pieces by Schumann, I think that for me the tide on Schumann is definitely turning now, I am enjoying this a lot more. Of course Evgeny Kissin's playing can only help matters.
Kresleriana almost constantly alternates between fast and ebulient and slow and lyrical movements and they are both very interesting. Schumann is still playing around with the Eusebius and Florestan characters, and for me here is where he most achieves good portraits of both characters.
Interestingly enough none of the pieces in Kreisleriana were attributed to either Florestan or Eusebius by Schumann, but their presence is quite obvious. The recording is crisp and perfectly executed, so really go with it if you are interested in listening to Kreisleriana, which I recommend you do.
Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The work is intended to represent the fictional character Johannes Kreisler from the works of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Like Kreisler, each piece has 2 very different sections, resembling the imaginary musician's manic-depression, and perhaps recalling Florestan and Eusebius, the two imaginary characters created by Schumann himself, who said that they represented his impulsive and dreamy sides, respectively.
Arcadi Volodos plays the first movement:
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