Schumann: Kreisleriana, Carnaval & Arabeske

Excellent, fresh, dramatic, thoughtful. When a young pianist aspires to challenge the great "stars" of the past and the present, he probably can't do any better than to record a coupling of Schumann's Carnaval and Kreisleriana. For all the great ones did them and have left a rich legacy of reference recordings. What can I say - the great ones will have to move a little and make a place for the newcomer! Vassily Primakov's interpretation goes straight to the top tier. I never was a huge fan of Schumann's Carnaval: it seemed to contain more pretence than substance. Primakov's testimony has swayed my opinion a lot. His Carnaval is thoughtful, balanced, beautifully played. He does not emphasize one single side of the music, and does not disregard "less interesting" parts. As a result, they are not "less interesting" any more. The pianist boldly removes the golden dust from Schumann's elegant creation, and it emerges strikingly modern, as if the whole event took place in a contemporary