Handel / Schumann / Schulz-Evler: Piano Works

For his tenth solo recording for Alpha Classics and Outhere Music, Nelson Goerner returns to a composer he particularly cherishes: Schumann – here with the Davidsbund, that imaginary musical society which Robert Schumann brought into being in the fight against the "philistines," that is, musicians perceived as decorative and traditionalist, such as Rossini, Bellini, or Donizetti. A few days after August 14, 1837, the date of his engagement to Clara, Schumann began work on the Davidsbündlertänze. Oscillating between idyllic dreams and passionate rebellion, Goerner is able to fully unfold his keen sense for musical narrative here. Furthermore, he dedicates his subtle musicality to Handel's 21 Variations on the Chaconne in G major, which he published in 1735 under the title Suite No. 2. Viennese grace and virtuosic ecstasy conclude this recital with the Arabesques on "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II, in the arrangement by the Polish composer Adolf Schulz-Evler (1852/54–1905).