The lyrical, reflective selections within both of these Schumann works fare best via Christopher Szaja Sager’s cultivated sonority, sensitivity to voice leading, and feeling for nuance. For instance, in Waldszenen’s third movement “Einsame Blumen” Sager takes time to smell the “solitary flowers” without overlingering, allows the “Prophet Bird” to gently soar on its own steam, and sustains the concluding “Abscheid” with rapt simplicity. By contrast, the propulsive triplets in “Jäger auf der Lauer” are not so firmly etched as they could be.
Power and propulsion often take a back seat throughout the Davidsbündlertänze. I miss the verve and abandon pianists such as András Schiff and Murray Perahia bring to No. 6’s rollicking triplets (it sounds as if Sager plays an extra left-hand eighth note at the movement’s start?), or to No. 8’s tumultuous relentless “stride piano” textures. Sager accents No. 9’s downbeats with square-toed regularity but lightens up in the polka-like No. 12. Those seeking the Waldszenen and Davidsbündlertänze on one disc will find much to admire in this inexpensive, beautifully engineered release. For this coupling, though, I prefer Andreas Haefliger’s more dynamic, suaver conceptions on an out-of-print Sony release that also includes Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op. 111. If you can locate that disc, grab it.
