(openPR) - Nachtstücke - Dreams, the Grotesque and the Demonic

The unusual coupling of piano works by Schumann, Holliger, Skryabin, Ravel and Mozart on this CD reflects the musician's ability to bring compositions of various eras and seemingly disparate styles into a direct relationship with one another. Herbert Schuch contributes a booklet-note explaining his choice of works and the philosophy behind it.
The pianist has presented this programme concept in recent piano recitals, which were enthusiastically received by his audiences in the concert hall. Herbert Schuch's skill in building tension and making personal musical statements is his particular strength, with his craftsmanship at the piano almost taken for granted. The Rhein-Zeitung, for instance, wrote of his recital in Mainz " ... Now, at the latest, Schuch reveals that he is offering more than a pleasant evening of classical music. He is taking his audience in search of the mysterious inner world of music and composers. (...) He is breathing new life into the often static and commercial world of the classics." And his piano recital of January 27 in Munich prompted the following review from the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “More unusually for a German pianist, Schuch has a fine sense for the harmonic extravagances of Skriabin's late works, his controlled exuberance. And he makes Ravel's 'Gaspard' sparkle and dance elegantly with daring artistry, bringing out unbelievable contrasts (…)“ Klassikinfo.de noted: “Here again [in the Ravel] pianistic virtuosity was never a means to an end; instead, there was a sense of controlled detonations, of always unexpected explosions. It was courageous of him that Schuch then played two of the three wonderful nocturnes by Heinz Holliger after the Elis poems of Georg Trakl; … "

Once Herbert Schuch had won three international piano competitions in three countries within a single year, all eyes were upon him in the classical music world. His concerts have taken him to many European countries and to the USA. This year, he will be the guest artist with the Vienna RSO under Dmitry Kitayenko in 7 concerts and a recital on his first tour of Japan, and in the late autumn he will be undertaking a European tour with the Orchestre National de Lille under its principal conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus.
For his concerts in Adelaide last summer with Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos 1, 4 and 5, The Independent Weekly wrote on July 25, 2008: "Keep an ear on Schuch — he's becoming an international headline". He will be completing his Beethoven cycle there this summer.

2005 saw the release of his debut CD of works by Schumann and Ravel (OC 541), followed in 2008 by Schubert's G major and A minor piano sonatas D894 and D537 coupled with Helmut Lachenmann's "Five Variations on a Theme by Schubert" and "Guero" (OC 593).

www.herbert-schuch.de

NACHTSTÜCKE
Robert Schumann: Nachtstücke op. 23
Heinz Holliger: Elis – Drei Nachtstücke
Alexander Scriabin: Sonata No. 9 op. 68 „Messe noire“
Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
W. A. Mozart: Adagio in B minor K. 540
CD: OehmsClassics OC 733

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