Often A Subtext

A fine recital of Schumann piano music by Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin playing Carnaval, Fantasiestucke and Papillons. Papillons is early Schumann and reflects his love of Schubert and of the writer Jean Paul, particularly a novel Flegeljahre which featured twins who it might be argued Schumann associated with his own split alter egos of Eusebius and Florestan. Papillons comprises a series of miniature dance pieces with all the brevity and flightiness of the life of a butterfly. Like much of Schumann Carnaval has a non musical subtext, this one to do with the "League of David" the progressive body connected with his work as a critic and devoted to defeating reactionary forces in music. There are various musical cyphers scattered throughout but it isn't necessary to recognise all of these in what is often a waltz based progression retaining echoes of the skittish dances in Papillons. Literary connections also underpin Fantasiestucke, in this case E T A Hoffmann. This isn't such a unitary work as the other two but there is a rather more mature and thoughtful air to much of the writing. Hamelin is a virtuosic performer who can grandsatand with the best of them but who also knows how to best put his abilities to the service of the music.