Tag Archives: Robert Schumann

In Concert – Mark Padmore & Jonathan Biss @ Wigmore Hall: Schubert & Schumann

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Mark Padmore (tenor, above), Jonathan Biss (piano, below)

Wigmore Hall, London
Thursday 24 September (lunchtime)

Schubert Der Wanderer an den Mond D870 (1826), Im Freien D880 (1826), Der Einsame D800 (1825), Der Winterabend D938 (1828)
Schumann Kerner Lieder Op.35

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood Photo credits Marco Borggreve and Benjamin Ealovega

Storytelling is of course an essential part of any Lieder recital, but the extent to which Mark Padmore and Jonathan Biss brought the seventeen songs of this BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert to life was a joy to behold.

Padmore is one of Britain’s finest tenors, a versatile artist at ease in contemporary music as he equally is in Bach or Britten, for instance, with one of his strongest qualities an elegance to the delivery that suited these brighter examples of Schubert’s song output. So, too, did the pianism of Jonathan Biss, finding and projecting all of the composer’s countermelodies with consummate ease.

The pair began in the moonlight – naturally – Der Wanderer an den Mond beginning in strident fashion before the brighter light of its major key second half. Biss then led the phrasing for a beautifully poised account of Im Freien, before the chirpy crickets of Der Einsame raised a smile. In a magical account of Der Winterabend, from the early part of Schubert’s final year, time was taken to evoke the long evening and the slowly falling snow, with a memorable turn towards blissful peace, as tenor and pianist found themselves in easy, slow moving alignment.

The calm repose cast by this song was rudely broken by Schumann’s arresting Lust der Sturmnacht, the switch from sonorous B flat major to turbulent E flat minor something of a jolt. In his Kerner Lieder, Schumann writes less of a thematically linked cycle, but a common thread to the songs are their capture the feverish passions, good and bad, of his new marriage to Clara. Though there is union and delight in the potential happiness ahead, some of the songs are fraught and wracked with worry, making the group ripe for dramatic concert performance.

Padmore and Biss (above) homed in on the drama of Justinus Kerner’s verse, the tenor allowing his voice to fray a little when the emotion of the song demanded it. Such moments occurred towards the top of the register in Stille Liebe and Stirb’, Lieb’ und Freud’!, where earlier in the song he had clasped his hands in reverent prayer.

Auf das Trinkglas eines verstorbenen Freundes was a captivating centre piece of the cycle, majestic and sombre in equal turn, while the rousing Wanderung had the musical effect of putting on boots and coat for a long walk. Heights of expression were found in the devotional love expressed in Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend, a Christmas present for Schumann’s new wife in the year of composition.

The extremes of movement made the stillness of Alte Laute all the more affecting, Padmore’s control held to perfection while Biss ensured once again that the phrases of Schumann’s countermelodies were beautifully sculpted.

As Padmore said, few encores could be entertained in the light of such a moving musical paragraph, yet one fitted perfectly – Schubert’s Frühlingsglaube, D686, lightening the mood without changing the tonality or elegance of delivery.

Padmore and Biss continue to finish each other’s sentence in this ideally matched partnership, at ease in each other’s company to forego obvious gestures other than the musical – which in this case resulted in a very special hour of music indeed.

You can listen back to this concert until 4 November on BBC Sounds

Published post no.3,039 – Tuesday 6 October 2026

In Concert – Zee Zee @ Wigmore Hall: Schubert & Liszt

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Zee Zee (piano)

Schubert arr. Liszt Der Müller und der Bach from Die schöne Müllerin S565/2 (1846); Liebesbotschaft from Schwanengesang S560 (1839)
Schubert Piano Sonata no.19 in C minor D958 (1828)
Liszt Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este (from Années de pèlerinage, troisième année S163) (1877-82) ; Tarantella (from Venezia e Napoli S162) (1859)

Wigmore Hall, London
Thursday 24 September (lunchtime)

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

Facing the end of his life at the age of just 31, Schubert dug deep to deliver a series of remarkable late works, with a speed of composition whose quality and quantity was truly remarkable. Among the celebrated works delivered were three large scale piano sonatas, the first of which – the Piano Sonata no.19 in C minor D958 – formed the centrepiece of this lunchtime recital.

Zee Zee (the stage name for Chinese-American pianist Zhang Zuo) delivered a commanding performance, stern in expression but always allowing room for the dance that is never far from the surface of Schubert’s music. Even before the sonata began she established the atmosphere, taking a minute for performer and audience to fully settle before the first notes were delivered. It was a highly effective tactic, typical of a deeply felt and carefully planned account that has matured over time since Arcana last reviewed her interpretation in 2015. Zee’s left hand was notable for its melodic clarity, the right delivering the second theme of the first movement with attractive, balletic phrasing. The turbulent development section often chased the restless right hand but Zee Zee was sure in her direction, contrasting the warmth of the second theme when in C major with the chill wind as things turned sour in the minor key.

The Adagio was intimate, yearning for the lighter moments that appeared like shafts of light in Schubert’s unexpected switches of tonality, though these were ultimately snuffed out and earthbound by the ideally paced closing pages. The serious Menuetto – its trio dancing in spite of the musical weight upon it – was fluently played, leading without a break into the finale. Here Zee Zee’s definition of the repeated notes was crystal clear, the agile left hand ably supporting the Tarantella theme at every turn, before an emphatic signing off to seal a most impressive account.

The Schubert was framed by four watery Liszt pieces – beginning with well-studied accounts of two of his many Schubert song transcriptions. The temptation with Liszt is often to show virtuosity at the expense of musicality, but here the blend between the two was perfect. Zee Zee told the story through the wordless singer’s lines, dressed with exquisite accompaniment.

The first of the two Liszt originals brought the Fountains of the Villa d’Este to life, the rush of water evident in the brilliant right-hand figurations, adding colour but leaving room to define the left-hand melody through the spray. Again the technique was impeccable, with well-chosen ‘rubato’ ensuring the music breathed as it should. The sparkling Tarantella was a study in pace, poise and power, delivered with the minimum of fuss but with no mean virtuosity. Zee Zee’s octave work – so critical in Liszt – was without blemish; equally her quiet playing was also beautifully rendered.

This was a superb recital, with one more feather in its cap in the shape of a beautifully flowing encore, the Intermezzo from Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien. Zee Zee will hopefully return to the Wigmore Hall before long, for as this healthy lunchtime audience appreciated, pianist and venue are a great match.

Published post no.3,028 – Friday 25 September 2026

On this day in 1856 – the death of Robert Schumann

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by Ben Hogwood. Picture by Johann Anton Völlner, Hamburg, courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day, 170 years ago, the composer Robert Schumann died in Bonn at the age of just 46.

For a while it was fashionable to criticise him on account of his musical quality, and especially orchestration – and indeed Mahler re-orchestrated all four of his numbered symphonies. Yet time has shown him to have much greater substance, with Schumann’s influence on composers such as György Kurtág revealed more explicitly in recent years. One piece the Hungarian composer treasures in particular is the late Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tale Narrations) Op.132, for clarinet, viola and piano:

One of the composer’s greatest champions is cellist Steven Isserlis, who can be seen playing the glorious Adagio and Allegro in A flat major Op.70 with Connie Shih:

Published post no.2,962 – Wednesday 29 July 2026

On Record – Ana Roxanne: Poem 1 (Kranky)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Ana Roxanne returns with an album on which she wants her voice to be clearly heard. To that end she has removed the tape noise, looping and layering that has dressed the vocal in the past, so that Poem 1 employs a raw presentation of her, ‘heartbroken and reflective’.

The piano assumes greater importance, with Roxanne noticeably shifting towards classical music, both in titles (Berceuse in A-flat minor, Op. 45) and in her use of source material, with One Shall Sleep taking its lead (or should that be lied?) from a Robert Schumann song.

What’s the music like?

In a word, intense. Roxanne’s voice is an extraordinary instrument, and leaving it in a raw state was the right way to go for maximum emotional impact on these songs.

The music is slow, which only heightens the strength of feeling, the concentrated impact akin to that of a David Lynch movie. For Roxanne could easily have been the centrepiece of Twin Peaks on this evidence, the likes of Untitled II reaching almost uncomfortable strength of emotion as she somehow controls the vocals. Berceuse in A-flat minor, Op. 45 is one of the standout pieces, just Roxanne and her listener in the room, while the Schumann-inspired One Shall Sleep is preoccupied with feelings of loss and grief.

The close-up recording means the intake of breath can be clearly heard on Cover Me, while Wishful (draft) finds deeper hues in the production.

Does it all work?

It does, though given the strength of emotion it helps for the listener to be in the right mood to appreciate Ana Roxanne’s power as a vocalist.

Is it recommended?

Yes. A powerful song cycle for modern times, headed by an extraordinary voice.

For fans of… Julee Cruise, Cocteau Twins, Keeley Forsyth

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,881 – Friday 8 May 2026

On Record – Sarah Beth Briggs: Small Treasures (AVIE)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Small Treasures presents a typically inventive programme compiled by pianist Sarah Beth Briggs. In it she presents works by a trio of inseparable Romantic composers, with late-ish Robert Schumann, lesser-heard Clara Schumann and very late Brahms, his final compositions for solo piano.

Complementing these are thoughts from two members of Les Six, Germaine Tailleferre and Francis Poulenc – with the bonus of a cheeky encore from Mozart.

What’s the music like?

In a word, lovely. Briggs is a strong communicator, and finds the personal heart of Schumann’s Waldszenen – which is actually quite a Christmassy set of pieces. She particularly enjoys the intimacy of character pieces like Einsame Blumen (Lonely Flowers) and the delicate but rather haunting Vogel als Prophet (The Prophet Bird), beautifully played here.

A tender account of Robert’s Arabeske is a welcome bonus, an intimate counterpart to the more extrovert Impromptu of Clara. Written in c1844, the piece floats freely on the air in Briggs’s hands. By contrast the Larghetto, first of the Quatre Pièces Fugitives, inhabits a more confidential world, one furthered by a restless ‘un poco agitato’. The Andante espressivo, easily the most substantial of the four, is more serene, and it is tempting to draw a link between this and the mood of Robert’s Traumerei, from Kinderszenen. The Scherzo with which the quartet finishes is charmingly elusive, with clarity the watchword of this interpretation,  

Poulenc’s Trois Novelettes are typically mischievous and elegant by turn, spicy harmonies and bittersweet melodies complementing each other, before Tailleferre’s Sicilienne, a charming triple-time excursion with a bittersweet edge.

The Brahms Op.119 pieces are serious but have plenty of air too, and the final majestic Rhapsody is grand but not over-imposing, Briggs resisting the temptation to go for volume over expression.

Does it all work?

It does – and the album is easy to listen to the whole way through, the lightness of the Mozart Eine Kleine Gigue complementing the Brahms at the end. Some of the classic recordings of the Brahms and Schumann pieces arguably find more angst, but these finely played accounts are a treat, especially in context.

Is it recommended?

It is. Rather than visit a playlist on your go-to streaming service, you can just put this album on to create a very satisfying recital. Small Treasures, indeed – as is Sarah’s dog, who joins her on the album artwork!

Listen / Buy

You can listen to Small Treasures on Tidal here, while you can explore purchase options on the Presto website

Published post no.2,756 – Monday 22 December 2025