Late in the 1840s, Schumann entered a chamber music phase. It was, it is said, motivated partly by financial reasons – creating a body of chamber works that could be played by talented amateurs in their own homes. Many of the works on this disc date from 1849. Significantly, for collectors, one of these – the ‘Andante and Variations’ – receives its first release on CD and marks Vladimir Ashkenazy’s first recording of chamber music for Decca. The same sessions also included duo piano recordings with Malcolm Frager, from which the Study in Canon Form emanates. Other notable duo collaborations on this disc include Rostropovich and Britten (Fünf Stücke im Volkston), Holliger and Brendel (Drei Romanzen, Abendlied) and Ashkenazy with Tuckwell in the 1974 Adagio and Allegro and with Franklin Cohen in 1990 (Fantasiestücke).
ROBERT SCHUMANN
Andante and Variations for two pianos, two cellos and horn, Op. 46
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Malcolm Frager, pianos
Amaryllis Fleming, Terence Weil, cellos
Barry Tuckwell, horn
Study in Canon form in A flat major, Op. 56 No. 4
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Malcolm Frager, pianos
Adagio and Allegro in A flat major, Op. 70
Barry Tuckwell, horn
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
Drei Romanzen, Op. 94
Abendlied, Op. 85 No. 12
Heinz Holliger, oboe
Alfred Brendel, piano
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
Franklin Cohen, clarinet
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102
Mstislav Rostropovich, cello
Benjamin Britten, piano
Recording Producers: Erik Smith (Andante and Variations, Study in Canon form); James Mallinson (Adagio and Allegro); Andrew Raeburn (Fünf Stücke); Andrew Cornall (Fantasiestücke); unknown (Drei Romanzen, Abendlied)
Balance Engineers: James Lock (Andante and Variations, Study in Canon form); Philip Wade (Adagio and Allegro); Alan Reeve (Fünf Stücke); John Pellowe (Fantasiestücke); unknown (Drei Romanzen, Abendlied)
Recording Locations: All Saints Church, Petersham, London, UK, 13–14 March 1974 (Adagio and Allegro); Decca Studio 3, West Hampstead, London, UK, 19–21 July 1961 (Fünf Stücke); 7, 10–13 & 27 February 1964 (Andante and Variations, Study in Canon form); Masonic Auditorium, Cleveland, USA, 16–18 March 1990 (Fantasiestücke); UK, September 1979 (Drei Romanzen, Abendlied)