Search - Kurtag, Schumann, Kashkashian :: Hommage a Schumann

The only perceptible connection between these composers is a certain concentrated inwardness; also, Kurtág's Hommage á R. Schumann is scored for the same combination as Schumann's Op. 132. Recalling Webern's pointillism, Kurtág's pieces are extremely short; full of rests, sound effects, dissonances, and juxtaposing rather than developing musical fragments; and fascinating in their infinite variety. The playing is fabulous. Kashkashian makes light of the double and triple stops, wild leaps, harmonics, and precipitous velocity; her tone is beautiful over a huge range. She finds expression in every note, speaking, sighing, whispering, questioning, attacking, and creating continuity across the silences by sheer power of concentration. The Schumann is free yet concise with lots of character, the expressiveness ranging from dreamy, tender introspection to playfulness, agitation, and passion; the viola sounds wonderful, the interplay between the instruments is splendid. --Edith Eisler