The acclaimed British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor takes Robert Schumann’s haunting Kreisleriana as his starting point in his new album. This eight-movement work portrays the mercurial personality of the fictional Johannes Kreisler, created by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Grosvenor accompanies the work with the Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann by Schumann’s wife Clara. Further kaleidoscopic variety is provided by Robert’s Blumenstück and Quasi Variazione: Andantino de Clara Wieck. The recital also includes Brahms’ Three Intermezzi, autumnal works which shed a fascinating light on the complicated relationship which existed between Robert, Clara, and Brahms himself. Grosvenor’s own arrangement of Robert’s Abendlied completes the program.
Benjamin Grosvenor: Schumann & Brahms
