In
Download News 15 Geoffrey Molyneux wrote that he could not
“imagine the
Novelletten better played”, and is highly
complimentary about Danny Driver’s performances of the other pieces. I am
happy to agree with all of his comments, and add that the exceptionally rich
and fine piano sound in this recording makes it a real all-round treat in
every regard.
Misha Donat’s well-prepared booklet notes tell us pretty much everything
we need to know about these works and Schumann’s circumstances at the time
of their genesis. Schumann himself came to regard the
Novelletten
as amongst his most significant piano works, and their “exultant mood” is
communicated with tremendous effectiveness here. This work is described as
“the largest and least known among Schumann’s major piano cycles”. There are
numerous other recordings around, but a lack of links to other reviews on
this site does seem to indicate a dearth. One such is that of Franz Vorraber
on the Thorofon label (see
review), which tortures the rhythm at every corner and seems to
lack much in the way of logical flow. I agree with Don Satz’s summary of
this performance as being “aggressive, heavy, abrupt and sharp”. Such
recordings inevitably crop up as part of complete surveys but there are also
single disc versions to be had. More impetuous than Driver is Wolfram
Lorenzen on Troubadisc TRO-CD01435, well recorded and initially more
spectacular, but this playing ultimately wears us out with its triumph of
bravura over poetry. Names such as Jörg Demus, Yves Nat and Nikolai
Demidenko crop up and I’ve had a listen to several online – always something
of a dodgy experiment when it comes to sound quality, but it serves to
orientate. Where Driver’s playing wins through is in his willingness to
colour as well as to shape phrases, both in the livelier and more energetic
pieces and the gentler and more intimate moments. This multi-layered
refinement informs Schumann’s music from the most exciting or playful to the
more poetic and deeply felt passages.
The contrast between the
Novelletten and the
Nachtstücke
could hardly be greater, the funereal aspect of the latter infused with
fearful premonitions and news of Schumann’s brother’s death. Danny Driver
doesn’t lay on these emotional associations with a trowel, moving us more
with restraint and an aura of silence. Contrasts with an earlier generation
of pianists can for instance be heard in
No. 4: Einfach, with
Driver using more sustain in the procession of chords when compared with the
likes of Horowitz or Rubinstein. These two, in their own unique ways,
separate and give a more sprightly tinge to the ‘march’ aspects of this
piece, making it more a finale to a concert than a finale to life itself.
The closing
Romanze is lyrical and consolatory; a postlude in a
programme which indeed seems to sum up Schumann’s all too brief life in
miniature.
Dominy Clements
