ECM Heinz Holliger - Robert Schumann / Heinz Holliger: Aschenmusik

2014

Heinz Holliger - oboi
Anita Leuzinger - violoncel
Anton Kernjak - pian


Robert Schumann: Sechs Stucke In Kanonischer Forms, Op.56
Robert Schumann: Drei Romanzen Fur Oboe Und Klavier, Op. 94
Heinz Holliger: Romancendres Fur Violoncello Und Klavier
Robert Schumann: Fae Sonate In A-Moll, WOO 2
Sonate Nr 1 Fur Pianoforte Und Violine In A-Moll, Op. 105

The title ‚Aschenmusik‘ derives from Heinz Holliger’s horror at Clara Schumann’s burning, with Brahms’ approval, of her late husband’s cello Romances, prompting Holliger’s composition of his own ‘cinder music’ , ‘Romancendres’, which is here framed by Schumann pieces […] His own imaginative Modernist response to Clara’s vandalism takes the form of a bright flare of energy leaving a dry, ashen residue. It’s an inquisitive piece in which cello and piano step tentatively around each other. An absorbing and emotionally gripping programme that unites Romanticism and Modernism with no grinding gear-changes.
Andy Gill, The Independent

This absorbing set embraces Holliger’s Romancendres, which seeks to recapture the late Cello Romances by Schumann, that his widow, Clara, and Brahms destroyed. Hints in letters are all Holliger has to go on, but he produces this four-movement ‘cinder music’, beautifully played. Before it come Schumann’s pedal piano pieces, Op 56, in a delightful version for oboe d’amore, cello and piano, and a captivating new account of the Drei Romanzen for oboe and piano.
Paul Driver, Sunday Times

The ‚Three Romances‘, Op. 94, are beautifully done, and Holliger’s oboe features with Anita Leuzinger’s cello and Anton Kernjak’s piano in the ‚Six Canonic Studies‘, Op. 56. […] It’s difficult to over-praise this project, whose elements combine as an alchemical spell to conjure up Schumann’s phantom work, a tour de force of imaginative programming.
Fabrice Fitch, Gramophone

Heinz Holliger is one of many who find it hard to forgive Clara Schumann for burning her husband’ s late romances for cello and piano. Their absence haunted him for years until, in 2003, he composed his ‘Romancendres’, joining the French terms for romance and ashes. His six masterly miniatures do, indeed, feel like flickering spectres conjured in Schumann’s desperate mind. […] Holliger’s language is subtly infused with the spirit of Schumann throughout. This intriguing programme, rewarding taken in any order, includes the poignant ‘Intermezzo’ from the ‘FAE Sonata’ on oboe d’amore, a mercurial performance by cellist Anita Leuzinger with pianist Anton Kernjak, Schumann’s Romances for oboe and Kirchner’s irresistible arrangement o the six canons. […] a must have disc for all Schumann lovers.
Helen Wallace, BBC Music Magazine

Once again, ECM has created a truly modernist perspective of Schumann that makes for a thoroughly satisfying listening experience. […] The album also features four of Schumann’s compositions, one of which is his only piece for solo oboe. ‘Romancendres’ is preceded by Schumann’s Opus 94, three pieces for oboe and piano that he called (guess what?) ‘romances.’ This allows Holliger to serve ‘double duty’ on this album, performing the solo oboe part with Kernjak. […] The entire album is arranged with Holliger’s piece in the middle, both preceded and followed by two Schumann compositions. […] The entirety is thus an absorbing study of not only Schumann’s work but also the ways in which it continues to reverberate in the present day.
Stephen Smoliar, Examiner.com