Susanne Grützmann delivers a quick, assertive, dry-eyed, and sharply articulated Kreisleriana first movement that’s guaranteed to make you take notice. She achieves the same effect in No. 2’s second Intermezzo, but the lyrical main sections sound relatively prosaic next to the lyrical transluscence you hear from Martha Argerich, Murray Perahia, and Herbert Schuch. The harder Grützmann works to clarify No. 3’s alternating accents and staccatos, the more her rhythm bogs down, and likewise in the stiffly executed No. 7. The slow, introspective Nos. 4 and 6 lack the nuanced vocalism that distinguishes Vladimir Horowitz, Evgeny Kissin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Alfred Brendel (talk about disparate pianists!). Yet Grützmann’s care over No. 8’s quick 16th-note upbeats do not compromise the music’s inherent mystery.
If you like Geza Anda’s lean textures and symphonic discipline in Schumann’s C major Fantasy, you’ll find a kindred soul in Grützmann’s sonically updated replica. The Arabeske is a shade cut and dried when heard next to the more heartfelt delicacy of Horowitz’s 1962 studio version, but Grützmann’s liquid legato touch and supple phrasing make the Blumenstücke a magical experience. In sum, this excellently engineered 2006 recording from the MDR Studio in Leipzig may be uneven, but it’s not uninteresting.
