Stunned by Angela Hewitt’s Bach
collection which was released in one satisfyingly chunky box
in 2010, you might also have had your anticipatory senses alerted
by a few excerpts from the Davidsbündlertänze
which were part of the Not Bach sampler tucked into the
bottom of the set. This beautifully recorded programme of Schumann
lives up to expectations. Hewitt’s sensitivity of touch
and vivid sense of colour and imagination brings these pieces
vibrantly, if not entirely un-controversially, to life.
The Kinderszenen will be perhaps the most familiar of
the works in this recital, certainly as one of the most popular
of Schumann’s piano works, and also as the kinds of pieces
many of us will have attempted to learn as part of the educational
literature. As you can imagine, Hewitt raises the status of
these pieces way beyond the stuff of early piano lessons, and
part of her skill in communicating in this music is in realising
the poetic content and intention in and behind Schumann’s
notes. Without in any way suggesting that this has failed, there
are elements in the playing which may take a little getting
used to, or with which you may disagree entirely. Schumann’s
scores are clear and unambiguous on one level, but on another
they leave a great deal to the interpretative powers of the
pianist. They are not over-laden with expression markings or
ritenuti, so that the pianist has a great deal of freedom,
but also a huge responsibility. Angela Hewitt’s decisions
are a natural response to both the notes as they stand, and
partly indicated by the depth of study she has clearly made
of the music, shown in her extensive and nicely written booklet
notes. The give and take of her rubati are well balanced,
so that the forward leaning moments in the first Von fremden
Ländern und Menschen are given release in the pulling
back in tempo at the end of each phrase. The more march-like
or dancing pieces are superbly contrasted, but the extremes
are to be found in the rather massive fermatas in a piece such
as Träumerei, with which I can imagine people having
one or two problems. Radu
Lupu in his Decca recording shows how a similar depth of
expressive message can be communicated with a good deal less
pulling around. The complete honesty of expression and beauty
of tone and touch in Hewitt’s playing win me over every
time, but there are occasions where she pushes the boundaries
pretty much to the limits of cohesion.
One thing where Hewitt and both Clara Schumann and I amicably
part company is in our opinion of Schumann’s Carnaval,
of which Hewitt writes, “I would rather play the [Davidsbündlertänze]…
ten times than hear Carnaval once.” The only reason
I bring this up is as part of the programme on the comparison
disc I’ve been using; that of Alessandra
Ammara on the Arts label, which I enjoyed immensely. Ammara’s
timings are almost invariably a little longer than Hewitt’s,
the latter tending to have a more urgent, more high-tensile
view of the swifter pieces such as the opening Lebhaft
and the first of the two marked Mit Humor. The forward-darting
aspect of Hewitt’s rubato is to my mind less appealing
in something like Ungeduldig, where the variation in
tempo seems to take over from the significance of the notes,
though I have to admit she certainly does sound more ‘impatient’
than Ammara. The song-like melodies of the lyrical movements
are a sheer delight, though my appreciation remains in the way
Ammara brings out the sudden little changes in character within
the music in little pieces like Einfach, where the dancing
nature of the second half of the phrase comes more to the fore.
Hewitt integrates more here, seeing that particular phrase as
a single entity than one with a schizophrenic double character
all of its own. In this way the subtle differences in fragrance
between the two pianists remain distinct, while they are absolute
equals in terms of absolute quality. I like for instance the
way Ammara holds back the drama of Sehr rasch, allowing
the narrative to unfold and grow with a sense of organic wildness,
but from roots deep under the soil. Hewitt arcs upwards from
a position more of lightness and transparency, the lower notes
given marginally less weight and either a sharper articulation
or a touch less length. These are all very fractional differences
of approach and I don’t really want to give the impression
I prefer the one over the other. It may seem an easy way to
duck out of making choices, but the truth is I just enjoy the
fascinating little technical angles and alternative brushstrokes
of expression between these recordings and revel in being able
to enjoy Schumann’s endlessly fascinating possibilities
in both.
Schumann’s Piano Sonata No.2 in G minor follows
the writer’s rule, ‘start with an avalanche and
go on from there.’ Angela Hewitt grips us from the start
with the “great sweep and passion typically combining
dramatic urgency with moments of rapt tenderness.” This
is certainly a performance which wrings everything imaginable
from the score. Relatively compact, the piece has a sublime
Andantino second movement whose lyrical beauty Hewitt
expresses with absolute refinement and a sense of tender restraint
which touches the soul. Those extremes of drama can be almost
brutal, and we are shaken by the throat as the calls of the
Scherzo bring us out of our reverie from the previous
movement. The finale, Schumann’s second attempt, the first
being considered too difficult by Clara and including her musical
motto in the second subject, reflects the restless motion of
the accompanying figure in the first movement with octaves which
fly through the air like swallows chasing insects.
Let’s be honest, there is no shortage of Schumann piano
music in the recorded catalogues. Of this programme the Piano
Sonata No.2 is the least frequently recorded, but Angela
Hewitt is up against competition from an extensive list of big
names. Distinctive and touchingly beautiful as it is, the cover
painting ‘Sister Emilie Sleeping’ by Adolph von
Menzel conjures contents of soporific effect, and nothing could
be further from the truth. Angela Hewitt has a magical touch
on her preferred Fazioli instrument and this recording is genuinely
full of those ‘moments of dramatic urgency and rapt tenderness’.
Fans and newcomers to Hewitt’s playing alike will find
much to admire and enjoy here, now and for a long, long time
to come.
Dominy Clements
Angela Hewitt (piano) 
