NACHTSTÜCKE

NACHTSTÜCKE

Schumann Nachtstücke op. 23
Holliger Elis – Drei Nachtstücke
Scriabin Sonata No. 9 op. 68 „Messe noire“
Ravel Gaspard de la nuit
Mozart Adagio in B minor K. 540
OehmsClassics OC 733

"... The rarely heard Schumann Nachstücke are given an idiomatic performance here. Influenced by the writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the movements were originally called 'funereal fantasies' as a group, with each movement also having its own title, appellations that were subsequently rejected prior to publication. Schuch brings out their quirky, darkness-obsessed nature. Holliger's Elis (1961/66), a work that depends on gesture an contrast, comprises three nocturnes of Webernesque intensity and makes use of silence similar to that of the great master. Schuch plays the music with real dedication - I look forward to hearing him in similar repertoire. ..."
Piano International, September 2009

" Herbert Schuch's provocatively programmed recital built around "Night Pieces" matches an perhaps even surpasses the extraordinary standards set by the young pianist's earlier Oehms Classics solo release. Few keyboard artists have conveyed the somber darkness and lyrical light that characterize Schumann's Nachtstücke (...)
One of the finest piano discs of 2009, for that matter, any other year."
www.classicstoday June 4, 2009  rating 10/10 points

 "(…) A potent programme whose concept is marked by a highly detailed interpretation. This results in manic note repetition in Skryabin, Ravel and Mozart – all three pieces share an insistence, a strict doggedness to express something which is apparently inexpressible, something which seems terribly threatening. It is also audible in the Schumann – despite the brisk virtuosity that Schuch is also capable of, though he never employs it to produce a release of tonal aura. That is because even in the heat of the moment, he is interested in the detail, in clarity (…)"
Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 25, 2009

"This brave conceptual album strides in a self-confident manner through musical eras: Schumann's manically obsessive Nachtstücke of 1839 are followed by three sketches by Heinz Holliger, Skrjabin's Black Mass sonata and Ravel's radical piece Gaspard de la nuit. The way that pianist Herbert Schuch (30) gives each work its due and closes with Mozart's matchless B minor Adagio is proof of real class."
Kultur SPIEGEL - April 2009