Alicia de Larrocha was, for a long time, an exclusive Decca artist and besides making seminal recordings of Spanish repertoire at which she excelled, she was also a Bach, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann player, par excellence. She recorded Schumann’s ‘Carnaval’ twice for Decca and it’s her earlier (1978) analogue version we release here. Together with ‘Kreisleriana’ and the eighth ‘Novelette’ – both recorded in 1971 – this is its first release on CD. It is Romantic piano music at its best, complete with codes and ciphers from Robert to his beloved Clara and Larrocha’s playing has both tenderness and sweeping passion.
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Carnaval, Op. 9
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Novelette No. 8 in F sharp minor, Op. 21
Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26
Allegro in B minor, Op. 8
Romance No. 2 in F sharp, Op. 28 No. 2
Fantasie in C, Op. 17
Alicia de Larrocha, piano
Recording producers: James Walker (Carnaval); Michael Woolcock (Kreisleriana, Fantasie, Allegro, Romance, Novelette); Michael Haas (Faschingsschwank)
Recording engineers: Simon Eadon, Andrew Pinder (Carnaval); Colin Moorfoot (Kreisleriana, Allegro, Romance, Novelette); Philip Wade (Fantasie); John Dunkerley (Faschingsschwank)
Recording locations: Roslyn Hill Chapel, London, UK, June 1978 (Carnaval); Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, May 1971 (Kreisleriana, Allegro, Romance, Novelette); Kingsway Hall, London, UK, June 1975 (Fantasie); Studio No. 1, Abbey Road, London, UK, November 1987 (Faschingsschwank)