Thursday, December 15, 2011

My favorite solo piano work

There is nothing like the last bars of Schumann's Fantasy in C, Opus 17.  I discovered this 30 minute solo from Murray Perahia's CBS recording in the 1980s.  It opens with such passion and ends with a serene question.  Wow.  I really liked a CJRT conversation between Paul Robinson and Bruce Surtees about this piano work.  That was on a Sunday afternoon in Toronto during the late 1980s.   They really had some insights that I enjoyed listening to (the question Schumann poses at the very end for one).  I've just listened to Géza Anda's recording form the 1960s and the last few minutes are as beautiful as anything I will ever hear.  I've not listened to Schumann as much as I usually do the last few months.  So, I think it's about time I start listening to more Schumann piano music (like the Symphonic Etudes played by Anda which I'm currently enjoying on a lunch hour).

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