• Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op.16

"a formidable young artist...Arad strongly characterizes each individual piece [allowing them to] come across with greatest success."

Atlanta Audio Society - January 2001

 "Avner Arad...reveals the musical intelligence, sensitivity, and technique of a finished artist. His approach is direct and unfussy, yet appropriately free in terms of rubato, and nuanced in expressive details. In Kreisleriana, each part has its own vivid character and sound; likewise, in the Fantasie, the impetuosity of the opening movement, the brilliant assertiveness of the second, and the profound meditation of the finale are beautifully projected. The piano sound is rich and full-bodied, and in the thickest textures the individual voices are brought our clearly...his faithful attention to the score and his affinity for Schumann's style bring very satisfactory results, and this recording has a rightful place in piano collection."

Susan Kagan, Fanfare - March/April 2000

"...he glides through this challenging repertoire with confident fingers, a luxurious tone, pliant rhythm, and a poetic sensibility that draws the honey from Schumann's harmonic practice...It is obvious we are not in the presence of a routine artist."

Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare - September/October 1999

 

Israeli-born pianist Avner Arad received his early musical education in his native country, where he won the Sharett Scholarship of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. At age 13, he continued his studies in the United States with Barry Snyder at the Eastman School of Music. He later attended the Curtis Institute as a student of Seymour Lipkin and the Juilliard School studying with Emanuel Ax and Rudolf Firkusny. Mr. Arad was the first prize laureate of several competitions including the National Shumsky Competition, the Koussevitsky Memorial Competition, and the Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition. Twice the winner of the Gina Bachauer prize at the Juilliard School, Arad made his Lincoln Center debut as the winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition. Mr. Arad was a recipient of the 1998 Distinctive Debut award from Carnegie Hall with recitals in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Kolner Philharmonie in Cologne, Athens Concert Hall in Athens, Symphony Hall in Birmingham and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Arad has performed as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States, Canada, Israel, Belgium, France, Holland, Norway, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic. Other recordings by Mr. Arad include the complete piano works by Janacek.

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Schumann represents an example of the influence of literature upon music in the early nineteenth century German Romantic School. His father, by profession a bookseller and publisher, was devoted to the English romantic writers, especially Scott and Byron and inspired at home a literary atmosphere. Schumann became committed to the writings of the two German romantic writers, E. T. A. Hoffmann and Jean Paul (Richter) and the fantastic elements in their works showed on him its deep influence ever after. Several of Schumann's major works are built around literary masterpieces like Goethe's "Faust," the impassioned music by Byron's "Manfred" and the glowing music associated with Hoffmann's bizarre and effervescent Kapellmeister Kreisler.

In Schumann one sees all the features of romanticism-eternal unrest, yearning, despair, exultation, melancholia, and sensitive mind. His piano music is both poetic and passionate and the demanding virtuoso passages are a far cry from the classical orderly scales and figurations; they are turbulent, brilliantly ornamented fantasies.

Schumann had the ambition of becoming a virtuoso pianist but was forced to dismiss the idea from his mind after disabling one of his fingers, thus he set his career as a creative musician and began feverishly composing. Till the age of 29, Schumann wrote almost nothing but compositions for piano and the bulk of it, including the Kreisleriana Op. 16, the Arabeske Op. 18, and the Fantasie Op. 17 herein recorded, was composed in three years, between 1836-1839. [Avner Arad]

ROBERT SCHUMANN
Kreisleriana, Op.16
Arabeske, Op.18
Fantasie in C major, Op.17