1838 — 1973 — 1828 Inward Voice : Kreisleriana Anders Eliasson: Versione Franz Schubert: Piano Sonata in C minor D 958 LC 28016 Beth Levin / Inward Voice Studio Live Recording

Robert Schumann (1810 ­— 56) Kreisleriana. Fantasien op. 16. Seinem Freunde Frédéric Chopin zugeeignet (1838) 1 32’ 38“

I Äußerst bewegt. II Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch * Intermezzo I. Sehr lebhaft - Erstes Tempo - Intermezzo II. Etwas bewegter - Langsamer (erstes Tempo) III Sehr aufgeregt * Etwas langsamer – Erstes Tempo – Noch schneller IV Sehr langsam * Bewegter – Erstes Tempo V Sehr lebhaft VI Sehr langsam * Etwas bewegter – Erstes Tempo VII Sehr rasch * Noch schneller – Etwas langsamer VIII Schnell und spielend

Anders Eliasson (1947 ­— 2013) Versione per pianoforte (1973) 2 06’ 54“

Franz Peter Schubert (1797 ­— 1828) Sonate c-moll D 958 (1828)

I Allegro 3 08’ 52“ II Adagio 4 12’ 37“ III Menuett. Allegro 5 03’ 10“ IV Allegro 6 10’ 17“

total 73’ 30“ Beth Levin

In Beth Levins Spiel sind die Einflüsse Beth Levin fashions a uniquely transcen- mächtiger pianistischer und musikalisch- dent and personal style that combines four tow- kultureller Traditionen zu einem unver- ering pianistic, musical and cultural traditions. kennbar eigentümlichen Stil transzendiert: From her first great teacher, , Le- die polnische Schule kantabler klanglicher vin acquired the melodic and timbral refinement Verfeinerung ihres ersten großen Lehrers of the Polish school. Another early influence, Ru- Marian Filar; die strukturelle Klarheit und dolf Serkin, fostered a sense of structural clarity musikantische Natürlichkeit Rudolf Ser- and natural musicianship, while kins; die monumentale Kraft und unwider- demonstrated his monumental force and irresis- stehliche Brillanz Leonard Shures; und die tible brilliance to his young student. Finally, unbestechliche Präsenz objektivierender Levin gained an incorruptible presence and Selbstbeobachtung dank des Unterrichts detached self-awareness from her studies with bei Dorothy Taubman. Beth Levins Spiel Dorothy Taubman. These influences seamlessly ist schlicht als zeitlos zu bezeichnen.. Mit merge in playing that is unadorned and timeless.

4 12 Jahren debütierte sie als Solistin mit After giving her solo début with the Phil- dem Orchestra. Sie machte adelphia Orchestra at the age of twelve, Levin sich einen Namen als herausragende In- earned a sterling reputation not only as a grand- terpretin zeitgenössischer Musik und als master of Bach and Beethoven, but as an inter- Großmeisterin in der Musik Bachs und preter of contemporary music. Within the span Beethovens. Ihre Live-Einspielungen von of a few years, from 2008 to the present, her live Bachs Goldberg-Variationen und Beetho- recordings have become legendary, including vens Diabelli-Variationen sowie letzten Bach‘s Goldberg Variations and Beethoven‘s Di- drei Klaviersonaten (‚A Single Breath’ bei abelli Variations (both on Centaur Records) as Navona Records) sind innnerhalb weniger well as the last three Beethoven sonatas (A Single Jahre legendär geworden. Ihrem hier vor- Breath, Navona Records). Here Aldilà Records liegenden, in Wien aufgenommenen De- presents her Vienna début, which will be followed büt bei Aldilà Records folgt eine weitere by another recording for Navona: Schumann‘s Aufnahme für Navona Records mit Schu- Davidsbündler-Tänze, Anders Eliasson‘s Di- manns Davidsbündler-Tänzen, Anders Eli- segno II and Chopin‘s B-flat minor Sonata. assons ‚Disegno II’ und Chopins Sonate in b-moll.

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QUITE A Wild Love vill (Robert Schumann, Kreisleriana: a ( e R 2

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Phantasien für das Pianoforte, op. 16) 1 l

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“Clara,” whispers Robert, “you will smile so sweetly When you discover yourself in it.” And: “Quite a wild love is present in a few movements, And your life, and mine, and some of your glances.” Quoth Clara: “Why hurry over beautiful things? Why not linger and enjoy them?” And: “The tea is ice-cold, The room grows colder and colder, But I grow warmer and warmer.” Alone, separated from his love, undrunk for once, Robert roughs out a first draft in Leipzig Over the course of four furious springtime days In April 1838. Clara is off becoming The toast of Vienna, elevated by the Emperor To the rank of “Imperial Court .” A love story for the ages. Each serves as muse To the other. But during that terrible Lonely, beautiful spring, they are kept separate, Like the twin rails of the Vienna-Leipzig line, That merge only in the distance, only as an illusion. The twain never meet. The poles of the magnet Switch their energies, positive and negative, Virgin and vampire, Eros and Thanatos, Clara and Robert, Vienna and Leipzig, Back and forth, forth and back, forever and ever. “Men and women, women and men,” Writes the modern author, “it’ll never work.” The lark, when she flies, beats her wings To heaven, but calls back to earth. The tomcat, when he leaps, lands softly. The hammer, when it falls, effects a caress. Consider the multiple intercessions that come Between the pianoforte’s anvil and mallet: String, damper head, damper felt, Damper rail, damper wire, hammer. It’s Rube Goldberg. It’ll never work. In life as in Kreisleriana, flux is the crux Low follows high, Sehr langsam, very slowly Trips into the fugato, Sehr rasch, very fast Wild eccentricity comes hard on the heels Of dreamy romanticism. We are poised Between the kiss and the miss, the cry And the sigh, the shout and the clout. In conclusion, there is no conclusion. The aim is not for resolution, but For our (painful, triumphant, disjointed, Agonizing, untamed, volatile, improvisatory, Veiled, incomplete, agitated, fractured) embrace, Embrace, embrace, and once more, embrace

Kreisleriana — Versione — pianistische Eroica / Eroica pianistica

Als ich Beth Levin erstmals hörte, in I heard Beth Levin for the first time in ihrer phänomenalen Live-Aufnahme der her phenomenal live recording of the last letzten drei Beethoven-Sonaten für Na- three Beethoven sonatas for Navona Re- vona Records, war klar, dass wir mit ihr cords. From that moment it was perfectly zusammenarbeiten wollten. Und es war clear that we wanted to work with her. It klar, dass wir uns als Beginn ein dramati- was equally clear that we wanted to begin sches, idealerweise ‚titanisches’ Programm with a dramatic program, ideally a “tita- wünschten. In Beths Spiel fließen starke nic” one. Thus we have the present album Einflüsse zusammen: Marian Filars zeitlose of Kreisleriana by Robert Schumann, lyrische Größe, Rudolf Serkins strukturell- Versione by Anders Eliasson and Franz musikantische Klarheit, Leonard Shures Schubert’s Sonata in C Minor. unbestechlich kraftvolle pianistische Grö- ße. Doch über all dem steht nicht nur die Levin’s playing unites several strong nüchterne Emphase ihrer starken Persön- influences: Marian Filar’s timeless lyrical

14 lichkeit, sondern vor allem ihre vollkom- grandeur, ’s structural luci- mene Versenkung in den energetischen dity and Leonard Shure’s impeccable and Fluss und die Grenzen des Klaviers über- powerful pianism. But towering above schreitenden Charakter der Musik. Beth them all is the sober urgency of her own Levin spielt, gemessen an dem, was wir strong personality. Her total immersion in heute kennen, wie aus einer anderen Welt, the energetic flow and character of the mu- geradezu, als hätte sie eben noch mit Edu- sic seems to transcend the limitations of the ard Erdmann, Edwin Fischer, Artur Schna- piano. Compared to much of what we hear bel und Wilhelm Backhaus zu Mittag ge- today, Beth Levin plays as if from ano- gessen. ther world, as if she had just lunched with Robert Schumanns ‚Kreisleriana’ op. Eduard Erdmann, Edwin Fischer, Artur 16 waren von Anfang an als musikalischer Schnabel and Wilhelm Backhaus. Spiegel von E.T.A. Hoffmanns skurriler ‚Kapellmeister Kreisler’-Fantasiefigur (aus Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana den 1814-15 veröffentlichten ‚Phantasie- (Op. 16) was intended from the very first stücken in Callots Manier’) beabsichtigt beginning as musical mirror of E.T.A. und sind zwischen dem 19. März und dem Hoffmann’s bizarre imaginary charac- 3. Mai 1838 in Wien entstanden: „Kreisle- ter “Kapellmeister Kreisler” (from the riana will ich es nennen, in denen Du und author’s Fantasy Pieces in the Manner of ein Gedanke von Dir die Hauptrolle spie- Callot, published in 1814-15). Schumann len und will es Dir widmen“ (Schumann composed the work in Vienna between an Clara Wieck am 14. April 1838). „… March 19 and May 3, 1838. As he wrote dann die Kreisleriana gemacht in vier Ta- to his fiancée, Clara Wieck, on April 14, gen – ganz neue Welten tun sich auf […] 1838: “I want to call it Kreisleriana. You Kreislerstück in G Moll im Feuer compo- and a thought of you will play the main

15 nirt“ (Tagebucheintrag Schumanns am 3. role, and I want to dedicate it to you.” A Mai). Kurz zuvor hatte Schumann, ein Jahr diary entry of the same day informs us that vor Drucklegung, als einer der ersten die “Kreisleriana [was] done in four days – knapp zehn Jahre zuvor entstandenen drei entirely new worlds open up […] Compo- letzten Klaviersonaten Franz Schuberts zu sed G Minor Kreisler piece in white heat.” Gesicht bekommen, doch konnte er nicht wirklich in ihre Welt eintauchen, zu stark Kreisleriana is the opposite of a loose- umfing ihn seine eigene in ihren äußersten limbed cycle; it forms a convincing and co- Aufgipfelungen und Entgrenzungen. Die hesive whole from first note to last, with a ‚Kreisleriana’ sind das Gegenteil eines lose jagged development that reaches maximum geformten Zyklus, sie sind ein vom ersten expression in a climax tense to the point bis zum letzten Ton bezwingend zusam- of bursting. Few musicians are capable of menhängendes Ganzes, mit einer höchst imparting logic and solidity to these free, zerklüfteten Entwicklung, die in einem unconventional, expansively imaginative zum Bersten gespannten Höhepunkt ihr mosaics—“Phantasien,” as Schumann Ausdrucksmaximum erfährt. Nur wenige termed them. The fantasies tread their laby- Musiker sind in der Lage, diese frei und rinthine, convoluted but never haphazard unkonventionell, gleichwohl absolut nicht paths, paths later found above all in the willkürlich geformten, labyrinthisch ver- Humoresque (Op. 20), composed a year schlungene Pfade beschreibenden, weit later. Kreisleriana is poised on a razor’s ausladenden Phantasie-Mosaiken, wie sie edge and moves heedlessly on the brink of auch insbesondere die ein Jahr später ent- chaos. But the crucial secret for the pianist standene ‚Humoreske’ op. 20 darstellt, in is to maintain constant close contact with sinnfällig korrelierter Weise zum Klingen the chaos, rather than getting lost in it. zu bringen. Die ‚Kreisleriana’ bewegen

16 sich auf Messers Schneide, entfesselt am Hieronymus Truhn reported his own Rande des Chaotischen entlang, doch ent- first-hand experience of hearing Schumann scheidend ist die beständige Tuchfühlung at the piano. “Schumann’s playing was mit dem Chaos, ohne darin verloren zu ge- indescribable. He moved his fingers with hen. almost frightening speed, as if ants were Hieronymus Truhn berichtete, wie crawling on the keyboard. He played his Schumann ihm ein kurzes Stück vorspielte: own music with little accentuation but with Es „hatte einen wilden, fortreißenden Cha- generous use of both pedals.” rakter. Er spielte es zweimal nach einander durch; es gefiel mir sehr, und ich fragte, ob Only a relatively short piece that re- es zu den Kreisleriana gehöre: Er sprach veals a similar depth and substance is ca- das Wort ‚Macbeth’ […] Schumanns Kla- pable of fitting between the two great works vierspiel war unbeschreiblich. Er bewegte by Schumann and Schubert. Not only was seine Finger mit einer fast beängstigenden Anders Eliasson Sweden’s most important Geschwindigkeit, als ob Ameisen auf der composer, in the eyes of an increasingly lar- Klaviatur herumkrabbelten; er spielte sei- ge number of musicians he was a towering ne eigenen Sachen mit nur wenig Accen- genius who stood astride the turn of the tuierung, aber mit reichlicher Anwendung new millennium. In his symphonic orato- beider Pedale.“ rio Dante Anarca, the Symphonies Nos. 1, Zwischen die beiden großen Werke 3 and 4, the Sinfonia per archi, the final von Schumann und Schubert kann nur String Trio of 2012 and many other works, ein Stück passen, das in relativer Kürze Eliasson created masterpieces of our era, eine entsprechende Tiefe und Substanz the true import of which was unknown to offenbart und zugleich einen starken Kon- most listeners at the time of their creation. trast bildet. Anders Eliasson war nicht nur

17 Schwedens bedeutendster Komponist, Eliasson never tired of emphasizing sondern nach Ansicht von immer mehr his unique view of composition. “It is not Musikern das überragende musikalische I who decides how the music will emerge, Genie um die Jahrtausendwende. Mit dem but the music itself from the forces dwelling symphonischen Oratorium ‚Dante Anarca’, within it.” His relatively slender oeuvre for den Symphonien Nr. 1, 3 (mit obligatem solo piano is of his usual sterling quality. Altsaxophon solo) und 4, der Sinfonia per Versione, composed in 1973, is a drama archi, dem finalen Streichtrio von 2012 und of tonal relations. It proceeds from an vielen weiteren Werken hat er Jahr um Jahr intrinsic dichotomy produced by the clash zeitlose Klassiker unserer Epoche geschaf- of a descending minor-3rd (F-D) and a fen, deren Tragweite zur Zeit ihrer Ent- descending semitone (E-flat-D), and ends stehung den meisten Hörern noch nicht in an ascending major 3rd (A-C sharp), bewusst war. Eliasson wurde nicht müde, soaring upwards from an ascending whole zu betonen, dass „nicht ich es bin, der step (C-D). This music requires close atten- entscheidet, wie die Musik sich bewegt, tion to subtle intervallic tensions and their sondern die Musik selbst, aus den ihr in- sculptings. It can give rise to a dynamic un- newohnenden Kräften heraus“. Auch sein derstanding of Eliasson’s “triangulatory” relativ schmales Œuvre für Klavier solo ist harmony, based on rotating similarities of von höchstem Karat. ‚Versione’ entstand minor-3rd relations (i.e. every third 5th) 1973 – ein Drama der Tonbeziehungen, that seem to escape the force of gravity. ausgehend von dem Zwiespalt, den die Be- gegnung des fallenden Kleinterz-Schritts A short while before he composed f-d und des fallenden Kleinsekund-Schritts Kreisleriana, Schumann had been among es-d in medias kreieren, und endend in the first to lay eyes on Franz Schubert’s der aufwärts, „ins Freie“ strebenden gro- final three piano sonatas, composed some

18 ßen Terz a-cis, die aus der aufsteigenden ten years earlier. At that point in time, the großen Sekunde c-d hervorgeht. Diese works were still a year from their publica- Musik erfordert ein intensives Erspüren tion. By his own account, Schumann see- der subtilen Intervallspannungen und ih- med unable to truly enter the challenging rer Ausfaltungen, woraus sich ein energe- universe of Schubert’s sonatas, being too tisches Verstehen der auf der rotierenden deeply enmeshed in his own world, with its Verwandtschaft der Kleinterz-Beziehungen extreme pinnacles and liberties. Here were (also der jeweils dritten Quint) beruhenden timeless messages from a decade past, writ- „triangulatorisch“ schwebenden, gleich- ten in 1828, in the final months before the sam der Schwerkraft entwunden fliegen- composer’s death at age thirty-one. den Harmonik ergeben kann. Franz Schubert schrieb seine drei letz- By these works Schubert had taken the ten Klaviersonaten in seinem Todesjahr measure of Beethoven’s major creations in 1828, und spätestens in diesen ist er durch- large-scale bipartite sonata form. Well-in- weg auch in der großen dual konstituierten tentioned critics continued to label Schubert Formdimension der Sonatenform auf einer a “song composer” and constantly dangled Höhe mit den Hauptwerken Beethovens, Beethoven’s impressive grandeur before dessen titanische Größe ihm, dem ‚Lied- the young composer’s nose. Conceived as a komponisten’, die wohlmeinenden Kriti- three-piece cycle, the sonatas were finished ker so permanent vor die Nase hielten. Die in September and have come down to us Sonaten waren als Dreierzyklus geplant, in autograph fair copies. The surviving wurden im September vollendet und sind sketches reveal that they were not, as legend in der autographen Reinschrift überliefert would have it, dashed off in a short burst. und nicht, wie die Legende lange besagte, Shortly after Schubert’s death, his brother innerhalb kürzester Zeit entstanden, was Ferdinand sold the three sonatas to the pu-

19 wir anhand der erhaltenen Skizzen wissen. blisher Haslinger, who advertised them but Kurz nach Schuberts Tod verkaufte sein left the works unpublished. It was not until Bruder Ferdinand die drei Sonaten an den 1839 that they were finally issued in print Verleger Haslinger, der sie zwar ankündig- by Anton Diabelli in Vienna. te, aber nicht veröffentlichte. Sie erschie- nen erst 1839 im Wiener Verlag Diabelli im The C Minor Sonata (D 958), the first Erstdruck. Die Sonate in c-moll D 958 ist piece in the triptych, is closest to Beethoven, die erste der finalen Trias, und nicht nur in and not only in its choice of a dark key. der dunklen Tonart steht sie Beethoven am In these final works Schubert went farther nächsten. Schubert geht in diesen letzten than ever before in his radical explorati- Sonaten weiter denn je mit seiner radikalen on of large-scale form, making the sona- Entwicklung der großen Form, die sie als tas seem like symphonies with imaginary symphonisch konzipierte Werke mit ima- orchestration. One special challenge in the ginärer Orchestration erscheinen lassen. present sonata is the descent of the low pi- Eine besondere Herausforderung bildet anississimo bass line in the development das Absinken der tiefen Basslinie ins Pia- section of the mighty and inscrutable first nississimo in der Durchführung des macht- movement. Extreme contrasts dominate the voll abgründigen Kopfsatzes. Extreme magnificently cantabile slow movement; the Kontraste exponiert das herrlich sangliche disintegration of the theme is written out Adagio, und gewissermaßen vergleichbar in a way distantly related to the funeral dem Trauermarsch aus Beethovens ‚Eroica’ march of Beethoven’s Eroica, albeit in a ist der Zerfall des Themas auskomponiert, quite different manner, with boldly clas- wenngleich hier in ganz anderer, harmo- hing harmonies resembling two antithetical nisch kühn opponierender Art, als korres- worlds communing across broad expanses pondierten verschiedene Welten über wei- of space and time. The movement ends with

20 te räumliche und zeitliche Entfernungen a solitary rising song, after which a brief hinweg. Ein einsam sich erhebender Ge- minuet follows in neutral but graceful re- sang beschließt den Satz, auf den wie ein spite. neutral-anmutiges Feld das kurze Menuett folgt. Das Finale bezieht seine Spannkraft The final movement draws its tension aus der Gegenüberstellung zweier ext- from the juxtaposition of two sharply con- rem gegensätzlichen Themenwelten, die trasting thematic realms, each of which is jeweils weit ausgesponnen werden. Das spaciously elaborated. The slightly less agi- etwas weniger bewegte zweite Thema ist tated second theme is in itself overwhelming in sich schon von überwältigender Man- in its diversity, with an undulating, rhyth- nigfaltigkeit im gleichzeitigen Auseinan- mically unchanging ostinato accompani- derklaffen der rhythmisch unveränderlich ment standing out like hummed choral sin- ostinat wiegenden Begleitung in der Art ging against the spectacle of the right-hand eines summenden Chorgesangs, dem das interpolations. As is the case with the finale Spektakel der Einwürfe der rechten Hand of the composer “Great” C Major Sympho- gegenübertritt. Wie im Finale der großen ny, the fact that Schubert filled the pages C-Dur-Symphonie hat die Tatsache, dass with many notes has led glib commentators Schubert hier viele Seiten mit vielen No- to misuse Schumann’s quip about “heaven- ten gefüllt hat, oberflächliche Kommenta- ly lengths.” Nothing is too long or too short toren dazu verführt, Schumanns Wort von in this visionary music, a work unique and den „himmlischen Längen“ missbräuch- consummately wrought in every respect. lich weiterzuverwenden. Nichts ist zu lang oder zu kurz geraten in dieser in jeder Hin- sicht einzigartigen, formvollendet visionä- text ren Musik. Christoph Schlüren, February 2015 English Version: Bradford Robinson 21

VERSION ( Anders Eliasson, Versione )

Light broke slow – night is day Made blind – as dawn is night Foxed – purple purled to pearl Then white – magnesium Volcano skies – the diamond Violence of the sun – a furnace To burn us into char – that we Might rise again – firebirds flown From ashes – blown on high Constellated – and named For gods – dead of twilights past

( l 2 il v 0 a 1 e R 4 il ) G

Schumann’s Kreisleriana p. 16

Composed in 1838 and dedicated to as they support the mercurial right hand. his friend F. Chopin, Kreisleriana is a pia- Measure 9, ff: an intensity is reached nistic standout, worth perhaps two Carna- here and held by szforzandi that grow from vals. tiny crescendo – A-Bb-A, A-Bb-A – that minor second tugging, yearning. The treble 1. Äußerst bewegt (Extremely surrounds the sparser bass line with 16th animated), D minor notes in chordal patterns – simple, elegant, The treble climbs in slurred, accented filling out the harmony, a Puckish midsum- intervals to a brilliant high D at measu- mer dance. re 8. That D feels triumphant because of At measure 25 a switch to the key of B- the treacherous intervals before it, smaller flat major removes the music from its unre- ledges leading to the mountaintop. quited state to a place of temporary peace, Pedal marked in the bass helps the dot- utter repose, almost resolution. The two- ted (staccato) octaves carry weight and tone note slurs and falling 16ths, a gentle rain.

26 The opening is reiterated at measure nal action to give it character. 49. We must leave the sweet garden to reli- Intermezzo I Sehr lebhaft (very lively) ve darker times. Throughout the work this This movement breaks the serenity with pull of conflicting moods, dynamics, colors its pointed left hand working against two- and emotions will continue to thrill. note slurs in the right, all accents, dots and Note to : Don’t be afraid to use speed. Not merely new material but a se- rotation in the opening intervals and to cond, outgoing character is introduced. play at different parts of the key – it’s wild! Schumann is nothing if not about con- trast. 2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch Erstes Tempo at measure 55 returns (very inwardly and not too us to the utter calm of the opening. The quickly), B-flat major continual repetition of this legato melody A sublimely serene melody rises and beckons to a place of introspection. falls twice before stretching out to fulfill Intermezzo II Etwas bewegter eight measures. Schumann seems always to Yet another variation within a varia- be using Nature as his guide. And Bach. tion with its swirling legato lines and rich The middle voices at measure 5 echo woven textures. Schumann presents a sin- the opening theme and work well to coun- ging melody at measure 92 and answers it terbalance the line above them. At measure further on in the bass and alto, the effect 7 the bass enters with important material being one of intricacy, color and variati- and the performer searches for just the right on. He highlights a melody by imbedding it sound – think Chaliapin – to differentiate inside patterns of running 16th notes and the lines. Looking, say, at measure 24, there leaves no spaces, a river of sound. exists a glorious duet between soprano and The music at measure 119 has an im- alto. The pianist must be alert to this inter- provised feel and forms a perfect transition

27 – using fragments of the theme and the In- lessness in the listener even as it makes a termezzi to seamlessly work back to the first transition to the theme. He bends the music material at the first tempo. We are home. like clay. At measure 85 the sprites return to 3. Sehr aufgeregt (Very agitated), play. A bombastic coda at 116 brings out G minor their wild side. The falling octaves at 140 Accented triplets act out a sprite-like are powerful, requiring a sense of abandon melody in G minor to form this movement’s to the very last note. character. An excitable piece following a spiritual one keeps us on guard. What 4. Sehr langsam (Very slowly), next? B-flat major/D minor I think Schumann was aware of qua- Ah, permission to play slowly – to lities that seduce the ear. While his music is breathe, sing, dream. never programmatic it has a visual aspect. Schumann’s turns, grace notes and His musical characters spring to life in the rolled chords, usually performed quickly hands of a good interpreter. here take on an aspect of slow motion and At measure 33 the music shifts to B-flat are given more of a melodic role. A ritar- major (still sharing E-flat and B-flat from dando in this tempo stretches rhythm to the its relative minor). Again Schumann crea- breaking point as in measure 5 and again tes a refuge in the midst of turmoil. A small at measure 10. One’s sense of timing ex- suspended high G at measure 41 is delicate pands, the extreme becomes the norm. Don’t and touching. He recreates moments of mu- be afraid. sic as feeling, of the felt, the known. Pedal markings here and there aid in Measures 61 to 67: An arcing line over the suspension of time and the blending of repeated B-flats creates a feeling of rest- colors. Leonard Shure once told me to play

28 with clarity despite the pedal. It can be used short long…short long…etc. Here they add quite artfully in Movement 4. punch and contrast to the legato eighth no- As in most of Kreisleriana a middle tes without elongating dots. section emerges with contrasting ideas to A musical gesture begins to build in the original theme. Here at measure 12 the measure 15, Schumann seeming to reach music is suddenly flowing after being held higher and higher, and by the third time in limbo. A tender and singing melody in peaks on a high F. So many of his melodies quarter notes debuts as sixteenths provi- seem to reach upward, perhaps never to be de motion and harmony around it. One satisfied. He knew how to create leaps and cannot describe adequately the beauty of large shapes and transform them to physi- Schumann’s melodies, their fragility, the cal entities. tenderness they relay. As with his songs, one At measure 51 he opens up to a deli- experiences true soulfulness. cious section of harmonies and eighth notes Chopin knew how to sing at the pia- in unison that verge on the ultra-Roman- no; in this section Schumann shows his tic. One has to keep from getting lost in the love and respect for Chopin. Measure 24 soup. returns to the original material and tempo At measure 67 he goes all out in ff and ending with an Adagio measure that serves the momentum and power are overwhel- as a perfect segue to movement 5. ming. Again, when confronted with such force of beauty, the performer must be in 5. Sehr lebhaft (Very lively), control or fall over the edge. One works for G minor a sense of abandon and control that can Some of movement 3’s impishness re- seem to coexist. turns with an infusion of dotted rhythms, one of Schumann’s trademarks. Long… 6. Sehr langsam (Very slowly),

29 B-flat major suite of dances such as Kreisleriana the The opening, in lulling 12/8, is short- performer must time the entrances just so, lived. At measure 5 a sharp key change to C sometimes letting several beats elapse before minor in forte ignites several bars of a fier- moving ahead. Schumann writes a ferma- cer mood. Surges of quick notes like small ta or hold at the end of his movements; the glissandi climb to and fall from accented exact timing is up to the performer. chords. After a fermata at measure 8 a pp Accented bass chords support the rus- transforms the driving notes to a delicate hing treble sixteenths in forte with a frag- filigree like the dissipation of anger. ment of a fugue appearing at measure 36, At measure 11 the opening theme ap- all unrelenting, never coming up for air. pears in the bass, taking on a more lumbe- Here as in the others a second contras- ring quality. Soprano lines take over and ting section emerges, in this case a hymn- gradually return us to the original mate- like arrangement of chords in quarters rial. While Schumann’s brush strokes are that slows down the harmonic rhythm and simple, the result is orchestral. frenetic energy. A ritardando, another, one The opening few bars seem to provide more signal, the end. Schumann with the means to create an al- Schumann’s use of ritardando and ways changing canvas, a now-you-see-it- other markings reflect his temperament. now-you-don’t sleight-of-hand. Schumann He would often place three ritardandi the magician! within the space of a few measures and thus maneuver time in a manner close to 7. Sehr rasch (Very fast), Nature. C minor/E-flat major Movement 7 is short and wild, a great 8. Schnell und spielend release from the more deliberate 6. In a (Fast and playful), G minor

30 Schumann wrote: the title is under- heaviness on the heels of Puck. standable only to Germans. Kreisler is a Arrival at measure 73 (Mit alle Kraft figure created by E.T.A. Hoffmann … an - with all one’s strength) is a critical mo- eccentric, wild and clever Kapellmeister. ment for the work as a whole: a heart- To paraphrase Koji Atwood, Kreisler, felt melody in forte that seems to embody kept alive by music, personifies the Roman- Schumann’s yearning (perhaps for Clara) tic soul in its struggle to invoke the deepest and for the pursuit of Art he felt to be just of personal feelings, often at the risk of beyond his grasp. madness or death. Hoffmann had intended The performer must dig deep to por- that his hero would go mad or pass his fi- tray a depth of culminating passion at the nal days in a monastery. Ultimately, Schu- heart of Kreisleriana. mann emulated Kapellmeister Johannes At measure 113 the tiny elfin feet that Kreisler all too well: Unable to control the began the movement return (in ppp and a demon of Art, it destroyed him. decrescendo) to the final notes of Kreisleri- We have arrived at the final piece, an ana. amalgam of themes and characters rich in paradox and in longing. Contrast in Schu- mann is never merely black/white or dark/ light but rather a juxtaposition of worlds felt at the deepest level. An elf opens the proceedings: G minor, pp, staccato. Only a slur at measure 2 adds poignancy to the otherwise carefree charac- ter. A bass figure enters at measure 25 with text a comedic feel: rolled chords as melody, Beth Levin, May 2014 (lafolia.com) 31 Re av Sonata / Sonnet il

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( Franz Schubert, Sonata in C minor,g D. 958 )

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The boy walks out and sings a summer lied A journey joy-written and daylight-safe The forest closes tight, he wields a rod To beat the weeds and entertain himself The shadowed leaves, a looming darkling sky Troubles prize a young careless mind, defeat A feckless peace with ancient symmetry A shivering hint of life’s death, love’s hate Summer boy, winter’s fell in every month There are beasts abroad that would do you ill Silence springs shut the happy open mouth Each bed’s a grave, each song’s a dying fall O wandering son O wondering one You will be dust, not now, not sometime soon Re av il

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