Schumann: Piano Music Leon McCawley

• 1 I. Allegro: Sehr lebhaft 08:41
• 2 II. Romanze 02:45
• 3 III. Scherzino 02:05
• 4 IV. Intermezzo 02:12
• 5 V. Finale 05:30
• 6 No. 1. Von fremden Landern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and People) 01:50
• 7 No. 2. Curiose Geschichte (A Strange Story) 01:03
• 8 No. 3. Hasche-Mann (Catch-as-catch-can) 00:31
• 9 No. 4. Bittendes Kind (Pleading Child) 00:57
• 10 No. 5. Gluckes genug (Happy Enough) 01:12
• 11 No. 6. Wichtige Begebenheit (An Important Event) 00:50
• 12 No. 7. Traumerei (Dreaming) 02:46
• 13 No. 8. Am Camin (By the Fire-side) 00:53
• 14 No. 9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd (Knight of the Hobby-horse) 00:38
• 15 No. 10. Fast zu ernst (Almost Too Serious) 01:52
• 16 No. 11. Furchtenmachen (Frightening) 01:43
• 17 No. 12. Kind im Einschlummern (Child Falling Asleep) 02:28
• 18 No. 13. Der Dichter spricht (The Poet Speaks) 02:43
• 19 Thema: Andante 01:22
• 20 Etude 1: Un poco più vivo 01:16
• 21 Variation 3 01:12
• 22 Etude 2: Espressivo 02:52
• 23 Etude 3: Vivace 01:25
• 24 Etude 4 00:53
• 25 Etude 5: Scherzando 01:17
• 26 Variation 4 02:58
• 27 Etude 6: Agitato 00:58
• 28 Etude 7: Allegro molto 01:15
• 29 Variation 2 02:13
• 30 Variation 5 02:23
• 31 Etude 8: Sempre marcatissimo 01:42
• 32 Etude 9: Presto possibile 00:41
• 33 Variation 1 01:29
• 34 Etude 10: Sempre con energia 01:17
• 35 Etude 11: Con espressione 01:54
• 36 Etude 12: Finale: Allegro brillante 06:11
• Total Runtime 01:13:57

Info zu Schumann: Piano Music

The wonderful Leon McCawley continues his exploration of 19th century repertoire for SOMM with the piano music of Robert Schumann, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. He begins with the delightful five-movement Faschingsschwank aus Wien, tender, stormy and passionate by turns, ending with a triumphant Finale, a real tour-de-force. He continues with Kinderszenen, one of Schumann's most charming and imaginative creations written for his beloved Clara in 1838, and which, although simple to play, they are not pieces for children but poetic evocations of the child's world, from a nostalgic adult perspective.

McCawley ends with the Études Symphoniques, one of Schumann's most important and characteristic piano compositions. He wrote the Études in 1836 and dedicated them to William Sterndale Bennett who performed them widely. Schumann revised them in 1852 and at the request of Clara Schumann, they were further edited by Brahms in 1873 who restored the five variations which Schumann had inexplicably cut out. Leon McCawley, in a wholly complete performance here has chosen to play the twelve Études plus the five so-called 'posthumous' variations, placing them in an order in which, by instinct, feels it provides a welcome contrast between the dreamy, romantic Variations and the powerful virtuosity of some of the Études.

“his expressive directness and unfussily supple phrasing is especially effective in Kinderszenen. He eschews self-indulgence - perhaps slightly underegging the beautiful 'Träumerei' - and yet beneath the surface there is plenty going on, small details of voicing and phrasing and little emphases that speak more on repeated listening.” (BBC Music Magazine)

“It's the faster movements which come off most convincingly [in the Faschingsschwank], with the pianist finding the right combination of accentuation and momentum...Where I think he's less telling is in the Romanze...McCawley produces some beautiful sounds...[he] is just a little low in the volatility stakes.” (Gramophone Magazine)

Leon McCawley, piano

Leon McCawley
one of Britain's foremost pianists, has forged a highly successful career since winning 1st Prize in the 1993 International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna and 2nd Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, building on his earlier success as Winner of the Piano Section of BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1990. Since then, McCawley’s impressive discography has established him as a pianist of great integrity and variety, bringing freshness and vitality to classical, romantic and 20th century repertoire. His 2015 CD of Rachmaninov’s Complete Preludes for Somm Recordings is no exception: ’a distinguished issue’ (Gramophone May 2015) and ’Leon McCawley is a real poet of the keyboard in these performances that are alive to Rachmaninov’s wonderful melodic invention’ (The Classical Reviewer March 2015).

McCawley has been praised for the purity of his lyrical and heartfelt playing. In April 2011 he performed the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas over one weekend at King’s Place, London in winning performances: ’There's absolutely no vanity in his playing, which is bright, clean and unfailingly communicative. In his hands the Mozartian oeuvre emerged with striking vividness’ (International Piano). Other notable recitals in past seasons include: London Piano Series at the Wigmore Hall (where he returns for two recitals in 2016), International Piano Series at London’s Southbank Centre, Philharmonie and Konzerthaus in Berlin, Frick Collection and Lincoln Center New York, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Prague Rudolfinum and the Phillips Collection Washington DC. He can be frequently heard on BBC Radio 3 both in performance and interview with most recent broadcasts including In Tune, Wigmore Hall Lunchtime Series and Performance on 3.

As a concerto soloist, McCawley performs with many of the leading British orchestras including the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony and Royal Northern Sinfonia. He has performed several times at BBC Proms. Further afield, McCawley has made concerto appearances with, amongst others, Adelaide Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra ( where he was praised as ’a master of tone and articulation’ by the Philadelphia Inquirer), RTÉ Concert and National Symphony Orchestras, St. Petersburg Symphony and Vienna Symphony and worked with conductors such as Mark Elder, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Andrew Litton, Kurt Masur, Gianandrea Noseda, Sakari Oramo, Simon Rattle and John Wilson.

McCawley studied at Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester with Heather Slade-Lipkin before continuing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia with Eleanor Sokoloff. He also received invaluable guidance from Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Nina Milkina and Murray Perahia.

A keen chamber musician, he has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with a range of ensembles and musicians at many prestigious concert venues including BBC Proms Chamber Series, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Series at the Wigmore Hall and Aldeburgh, Brighton, Cheltenham and Edinburgh festivals.

McCawley’s discography includes: Barber Piano Music (EMI Classics); Schumann Piano Music (Avie Records) selected as Editor's Choice in Gramophone; The Complete Piano Works of Hans Gal (Avie), also a Gramophone Editor's Choice; The Complete Mozart Piano Sonatas (Avie) awarded a Diapason d'Or ; Chopin Piano Music (Somm Recordings) ; a new recording of Barber Piano Music (Somm), awarded Critic's Choice in Gramophone in November 2011; Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Royal Philharmonic and City of London Choir/Hilary Davan Wetton (Naxos); Brahms Piano Music (Somm), selected as Classic FM CD of the Week in July 2012; Schumann Piano Music (Somm); and Rachmaninov Complete Preludes (Somm). His most recent recording is Vaughan Williams Double Piano Concerto with John Lenehan and Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Martin Yates (Dutton Epoch) , described as ‘not been better served on record before’ and awarded 5 stars by BBC Music Magazine.

Leon McCawley is currently professor of piano at London's Royal College of Music. He is married to the painter Anna Hyunsook Paik.

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