Costantino Catena- Schumann: Novelletten Op. 21; Nachtstucke Op. 23

Reviewing previous issues of Schumann's piano music played by Constantino Catena, critics in Fanfare have noted the Italian pianist's affinity for the composer's unique sound world, it's peculiar subtleties and idiosyncrasies. 'Catena's playing is a precise balance of fluidity and markedness' (Davidsbundlertanze); 'he plays with wonderful tone and fine sensibility' (Fantaisie). For this new recording, made on a Yamaha CFX instrument in May 2024, he turns to a pair of cycles comparatively neglected within Schumann's pianistic output. While his fellow Italian Dino Ciani made a famous recording of the Novelettes Op.21 back in the 60s, the sequence of eight works has never attracted the attention of works like the Fantaisie or Kreisleriana, yet they embody the composer's inspiration in full spate. Schumann wrote to Clara early in 1838: 'In the last three weeks I have composed an extraordinary amount of music: hilarious things, Egmont stories, family scenes with fathers, a wedding.' True