Fresh, light, lively, and a little insouciant,
Michael Endres' three-disc set of well-known and less-well-known Schumann piano music is a joy and a delight. In the well-known works like Humoreske, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and Faschingsschwank aus Wien,
Endres plays with a consummate technique and a profound understanding of the music. While there have been plenty of great recordings of these works -- one thinks immediately of
Richter and
Argerich and
Horowitz and
Michelangeli --
Endres has a full, rich tone; a strong, supple touch; and interpretations that find the heart of Schumann's romantic imagination. In the less well-known works like the Gesänge der Frühe, the Geistervariationen, and especially the complete Album für die Jugend,
Endres plays with a rare delicacy and charm that penetrate the heart of Schumann's fantastic imagination. While there have been few recordings of these works,
Endres makes one think that they deserve to be far better known. Oehms' piano sound is nearly real, but a little bit too far away.