The latest releases reviewed.
CLARA SCHUMANN: COMPLETE SOLO PIANO WORKS Susanne Grützmann (piano) Profil Edition Günter Hänssler PH 07065 (4 CDs) ***
Clara Schumann, a 19th-century performer to be spoken of in the same breath as Liszt, led a romantic life that attracted the attention of Hollywood. She was played by Katharine Hepburn in 1947 and Nastassja Kinski in 1983. Her music has long been eclipsed by the work of her adored husband, Robert, under whose influence she moved from writing virtuoso piano showpieces to a more poetic style. Strong claims have been made for her work, and it certainly doesn't deserve the almost total neglect it was once subject to. In Susanne Grützmann's musicianly performances, the piano music sounds best in the sets of Romances and the Variations, Op. 20. MICHAEL DERVAN
PADEREWSKI: SONATA IN E FLAT MINOR OP 21; VARIATIONS AND FUGUES OPP 11 & 23 Jonathan Plowright (piano) Hyperion CDA 67562 ****
Ignacy Jan Paderewski, one of the great, lionised performers of his day, was briefly prime minister of a newly-independent Poland after the first World War. He was also a composer, though if you know only his most famous miniature, a florid Minuet, you'll be surprised by the sweep and ambition of his Piano Sonata in E flat minor. This is a work in grand, late-romantic manner, which Jonathan Plowright handles as if to the manner born. The Op 23 Variations share the unusual key of the sonata and were completed in the same year, 1903. The Op 11 Variations, from the mid-1880s, are much lighter and more straightforward in manner. www.hyperion-records.co.uk MICHAEL DERVAN
JOAN TOWER: MADE IN AMERICA; TAMBOR; CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA Nashville Symphony/Leonard Slatkin Naxos American Classics 8.559328 ***
US composer Joan Tower (born 1938) is far less often heard in Europe than at home. Her Made in America was commissioned under a 2001 scheme that brought it performances in all 50 US states. Like the other works on this disc, Tambor (1998) and Concerto for Orchestra (1991), it's written in the eclectic style she's forged since she abandoned serialism in the 1970s and decided to confront the fact that "I like drums - I like rhythmic energy - I like simple colours!" Anyone who enjoys tracing fleeting references will have fun. The style, handled with panache by Leonard Slatkin, is as effective as a production-line Hollywood thriller and as seemingly familiar on a first acquaintance. www.naxos.com MICHAEL DERVAN
SIBELIUS: SONGS; KILPINEN: SONGS Kim Borg (bass), Erik Werba (piano) Deutsche Grammophon 477 6612 ***
This is both a rewarding and a frustrating issue. It repackages a recital LP of Sibelius songs recorded by the great Finnish bass Kim Borg in the 1950s. Some of his performances are among the best on record of this comparatively neglected repertoire, though you can definitely exclude the pair sung in English from that achievement. The new issue provides a bonus in the form of two stereo remakes, and three songs by the prolific (over 700 songs) Yrjö Kilpinen. The sound comes up well, and the disc can be heartily recommended to all Sibelius fans. Sadly, though, the documentation is poor. The song titles are badly laid out in tiny print, and there's not a hint anywhere as to what even a single song is about. www.deutschegrammophon.com MICHAEL DERVAN
