SCHUMANN'S PIANO CHAMBER MUSIC/6 Presented by Liszt Academy

Anyone who enjoys Schumann and the Kegelstatt Trio named after Mozart’s favourite pastime, skittles, should not miss the closing concert in the Complete Works Live series: the opening number, Fairy Tales (1853), has the very same unusual instrumental line-up (viola-clarinet-piano) as the Mozart work. It is possible to select from the very same instruments when putting on the Fantasy Pieces written in 1849: Schumann originally dedicated the work for clarinet and piano, but the wind part may also be played on the viola (or cello). Now for an even more unlikely grouping: the lush sound of two pianos, two cellos and a horn blend in Andante and Variations (1843), in which the pianists are undoubtedly the leaders, but in one breath-taking moment the cellists can unpack a typical Schumann surprise (from the song cycle A Woman’s Love and Life). The concert concludes with the Piano Quintet in E-flat major, which was the crowning achievement not only of 1842, considered the ‘year of chamber music’ in the Schumann oeuvre, but in fact of the artist’s entire piano chamber music oeuvre.