Though Schumann intended his Novelletten to be played as a set, they are not frequently heard all together. Instead, pianists usually pick one or two selections to throw into a recital program. The tendency of performers to cherry pick favorites from the group may have something to do with the fact that the individual pieces have very similar structures -- fast, loud, energetic sections alternating with slower, quiet, lyrical episodes -- that can make them run together unless the pianist makes a special effort to bring out the distinctive features of each novellette. There could also be a lot of arrogance and hammy intensity in these, as they alternate between loud, energetic sections and quiet, lyrical ones, but
Nicholas Roth doesn't point up those qualities, although he does bring enough optimism and confidence to unite the eight "stories." The recording's sound is constrained, but you can still hear the deftness of
Roth's touch, especially in the beautifully understated accompaniment to his singing melody in the soft sections of No. 1. He also uses his pedal sensibly; the opening of No. 2 is neither too terse nor too blurry. Every once and a while, his phrasing in the more active sections, as in the opening of No. 3, is not quite organic, not quite comfortably shaped so that the phrases connect and flow together easily.
Roth plays the waltz of No. 4 and the polonaise of No. 5 with energy, but is best in those passages where he can let a melody come out over everything else or when he's rebuilding speed and volume with a specific goal in sight. The later few novellettes seem to fare better, as if
Roth let instinct take over more as the session went on (assuming that these were recorded in order). No. 7 has a refreshing, wide-eyed hopefulness even in its lilting central section, while the varied moods of No. 8 draw attention better than any of the rest. If nothing else,
Roth demonstrates the potential both of the Novelletten as a set and of his own musical instincts.