Imogen Cooper plays Schumann. This recording by Imogen Cooper features some of Robert Schumann‘s most typical and complex works for solo piano. Cooper is one of those artists who are reaching a glorious maturity; she seems to follow in the steps of her teacher, Alfred Brendel, who surely taught her to display virtuosity with lyrical and emotional expression. The specific selections are: Schumann:
- Abegg Variations, Op. 1
- Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
- Novelette, Op. 21 No. 2 in D major
- Novelette, Op. 21 No. 8 in F sharp minor
- Geisternähe Op. 77 No. 3 (Friedrich Halm)
Performed by Imogen Cooper (piano) This album includes the Davidsbündlertänze, which she describes as a ‘work of stirring beauty and humor that make it one of the great romantic masterpieces for the piano’. It also illustrates the journey between two sets of variations: Schumann’s first published and last composed piano pieces. While the ‘Abegg’ is ‘virtuosic, extroverted, challenging to play, and charming’, the ‘Geistervariationen’ are ‘introverted and sparse, with a deep but elusive emotion’. Finally, in the two “Novelletten” Imogen Cooper reveals what she calls the ‘hidden narrative filaments to be discovered’ in Schumann’s music; this requires ‘A skill which is very necessary in the interpretation of scores that frequently appear disjointed and illogical’.
Here is Imogen Cooper playing ‘Fantasiestucke’, Op. 12, 2. “Aufschwung” by Robert Schumann:
