Two wonderful and mystifyingly obscure performances of this masterwork. It’s hard to imagine a set of pieces that better represents Schumann’s style — every imaginable Schuman-ism is here in abundance: accents on wrong beats, misplaced bar lines, muscular & jerkily taut fast sections, slow sections that are either rapt or sphinxlike, counterpoint of incredible expressiveness (Schumann studied the WTC very seriously, and his contrapuntal ability is too rarely acknowledged), drastically contrasting internal structures, pianistic textures that are never anything but original. The result is a collection of unbridled fierceness (all of the pieces, with one exception, are marked with performance instructions beginning with either “Very” or “Extremely”) and moving lyricism, and one of the real high points of miniature-set writing in all of classical music.
Slåttebrekk’s performance represents playing of a high-voltage, live-wire sort (see the Noch schneller at 16:15 and so on). The fast movements are etched incredibly vividly: entrances are often shockingly intense, and dense textures are rendered almost jazzy. The slow sections are beguiling and butter-smooth. Endres has a more relaxed approach to the Kreisleriana, but brings out all sort of hidden detail: his application of rubato is generous but finely calculated, the tone warm and rich, and in the left hand in particular all sorts of gorgeous countermelodies appear (though with Endres it must be said that the handling of the counterpoint is uniformly spectacular.)
No.1, Äußerst bewegt (Extremely animated): Begins as if in the middle of a phrase, with deceptive rhythms. ABA structure: two anguished sections flanking a lyrical middle one writing entirely in fleeting semiquavers.
No.2, Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch (Very inwardly and not too quickly): ABACA form. The A section features supple, bell-like counterpoint. The first intermezzo is a rhythmically deceptive dance (you don’t quite hear the up-beat), and the second a blackly coiled thing that features imitative movement in the outer voices. The movement back into the A section features some inspired chromatic writing.
No.3, Sehr aufgeregt (Very agitated): ABA form. The A section features dark, nervous figuration, and the B section is one of those flat-out heart-stoppingly gorgeous things that only Schumann could possibly have written. Counterpoint at its most expressive.
No.4, Sehr langsam (Very slowly): Another ABA, with a surprising late-Beethoven-esque tenderness & sincerity to it. A bit like Der Dichter Spricht, from Kinderszenen.
No.5, Sehr lebhaft (Very lively): ABACABA form, with wild swings of mood & texture. The A section features mischievous, spasm-like figuration (Chopin’s Bb min Scherzo springs to mind), and the way Schumann arranges the entry of the voices for dramatic effect betrays his skill as a contrapuntist. It’s also kind of fun to contrast how Slåttebrekk and Endres take the C section. The piece ends almost as an afterthought.
No.6, Sehr langsam (Very slowly): Often identified as the “heart” of the Kreisleriana, and for good reason. A(B)ACA form. An extraordinarily simple melody grows agitated, and abrupt scalar runs suddenly appear before fading back into the original melody. The rhythmic motif of the melody is then reeled out into highly suggestive new material, which before it can fully blossom recedes again into the opening melody.
No.7, Sehr rasch (Very fast): A surprisingly Baroque thing, if certainly more schizoid and unrestrained than anything from that period. ABAC form, with the A section featuring false resolutions on diminished 7th chords and a section with intense sequential movement around the circle of 5ths. The B section is distinctly fuguelike, and right after the A section returns at an even higher speed, the music screeches to a halt in the C section, which features a sweet, simple theme. Typical Schumann, really.
No.8, Schnell und spielend (Fast and playful): ABACA form. The A section sees the RH tiptoeting up and down the keyboard in a rather false-moustache-and-eyeglass way, while the LH tries and fails to synchronize with it. The B section could be described as richly lyrical, if not for the fact that the A section rhythm never quite lets up. The C section injects a burst of profound tragedy that gradually grows into something more warm, even heroic (Schumann indicates Mit aller Kraft, “with all your power”).
Slåttebrekk:
00:00 – No.1*
02:41 – No.2
12:14 – No.3*
16:48 – No.4
20:57 – No.5*
23:53 – No.6
28:13 – No.7
30:25 – No.8
Endres:
33:34 – No.1
36:24 – No.2*
45:35 – No.3
49:59 – No.4
54:08 – No.5
57:28 – No.6
1:02:03 – No.7*
1:04:12 – No.8*