Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6 (1837)
Humoresque Op. 20 (1839)
Costantino Catena (piano)
rec. 2012, Complesso Museale di Santa Croce, Umbertide, Italy
Camerata CMCD28357 [66]

I recently greatly enjoyed a previous Schumann recital from Costantino Catena (review) so I was pleased to be able to catch up with this earlier recording of his, which couples the well-known Davidsbündlertänze, or Davidsbündler, as Schumann subsequently called, it, with the less well-known Humoresque.

Both works come from that fruitful early period in which Schumann was hoping to be able to marry his beloved Clara and was pouring out a stream of piano works, including some of his finest. The Davidsbündlertänze were published with a handsome Gothic-style title page and presented as the work of Florestan and Eusebius. These were Schumann’s two alter egos, Florestan, the man of action and Eusebius, the dreamer. The eighteen pieces in the cycle were each originally attributed to the one or the other, or occasionally both. The Davidsbund, the band of David, was a notional group of artistic friends who inveighed against the Philistines – the idea came from a novel Schumann projected but never wrote. The work opens with a motto from one of Clara’s own compositions. The earlier dances in the set are then fairly straightforward pieces but as the cycle goes on they become more complex and more demanding technically. However, they conclude with a mostly gentle waltz.

The Humoresque comes from the two years later and Schumann said it was perhaps his ‘most melancholy composition.’ It contains five pieces, though they are not numbered separately. Each is in ternary form and the writing is throughout complex and demanding and it is less obviously attractive than some of the other cycles, which may account for its comparative neglect. The second section also has one of Schumann’s riddles: an extra melodic line marked ‘Innere Stimme’ (inner voice) but not to be played, which may be compared to the Sphinxes in Carnaval or the Stimme aus der Ferne (voice from the distance) in the Novelleten.

I find Catena to be an excellent exponent of Schumann. In particular, he can bring out the singing line over what is often extremely complex accompanying figuration. His playing of Schumann’s frequent rapid chordal passages is crisp and clear, his phrasing good and his pedalling refined, avoiding the mush of over-pedalling. He also has a fine sense of rubato and nuance, which I never felt was mannered or forced but emerged naturally from the music. He plays a Fazioli piano which makes for clear textures and the recording is good, though at a slightly lower level than I expected, which needed a little encouragement from the volume control.

There are, of course, many other recordings of Davidsbündlertänze, including some which couple it with the Humoresque. If you choose this version you will not be disappointed. The disc comes on the Camerata Tokyo label and has notes in Japanese as well as English. I look forward to hearing more of Catena’s Schumann.

Stephen Barber