Schumann’s Symphonic Studies Op. 13 make an interesting foil to the two concertos heard on this recording, but it’s a pity they’re placed first, before Murray Perahia’s account of the A minor piano concerto. Coming after it, their lyric intimacy and concentrated mood might have made the already strong impressions aroused by Perahia’s reading that much more poignant. Still, the pianist gives an adroit performance of the studies, never as powerfully aristocratic as Wilhelm Kempff’s version (recently reissued by DG), but flexible and intelligent in its approach and decently recorded. Perahia uses the revised version of 1852 with its improved finale and includes several of the variations rescued by Brahms and published in Breitkopf’s supplemental edition. Perahia’s account hasn’t the striking boldness or drama of Andras Schiff’s (Teldec), but his sensitivity for Classical logic and proportion is there in abundance.
Perahia’s more considered style informs his reading of the piano concerto, too. It’s by no means as thrusting or dramatic as some, but it’s pleasing nonetheless, with good sound and attentive support from Colin Davis and the BRSO. To hear Perahia in a more robust and forthright account, try his 1994 Sony remake with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. There are the same intimately confessed nuances in the opening movement, but the overall feel is bigger, bolder, and much more resolved, with a memorably urgent orchestral pick-up after the cadenza that can really catch your breath. The slow movement is beautifully done, but again, the finale brings keener pulse and rhythmic alertness.
This mid-priced Bavarian reissue ends with Yo-Yo Ma in Schumann’s cello concerto. Capably played as it is, the performance hasn’t the dark earnestness and nobility that Heinrich Schiff brings to it, again with the Berliners (on Philips under Haitink), and Ma’s faster tempos, mostly in the finale, sometimes make his reading seem overwrought and a bit headlong. Schiff’s excellent Philips version also is better recorded, though Sony’s well-filled Schumann disc should suffice if you just want to add these works to your collection at modest cost.
