Josef Hofmann plays Schumann Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (2/2)

[wesmusic56]

He seems to improvise on the spot.... Oh the spontaneity.... Oh what artistic inspiration!

[wesmusic56]

Sounds so magical! As if I am transported to a concert hall in the 1910s or 1920s... Or some salon that Chopin had been to...

[loboris1995]

Horowitz,Hofmann and Neuhaus all played Kreisleiriana wonderfully,what a pity that Richter didn't play it ^^

[kasyapa]

surreal - and only j.h. could have pulled it off. i don't "like" it - but it's fascinating!

[ppascaleff]

What is this?!? This is music, not competition. Comparing them in this fashion is like comparing two persons' feelings over a certain subject which is just unthinkable...

[PiaNISTII]

@uriakramer lolled

[ClassicalMusicReview]

In today's final part of the Kreisleriana competition between Sofronitsky & Hoffman the Molto Presto & Vivace Scherzando are compared.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

At 2:48 Hofmann leaves music behind to better express the tumult.4:07-4:48 Hofmann shows himself better than Sofronitsky at 1:29-2:19 by pulsing the gestures for more contrast & surprise.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

In victorious march home 6:05 Hofmann resumes in a tumultuous torrent but it's Sofronitsky at 3:54-5:44 who briefly implies a cascading torrent at 4:07 & then at 4:30 creates a mood contrast of resigned contemplation for which Hofmann has no answer.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Judgement:Sofronitsky wins the final movement and the first ones against a draw in the middle movements to win 2-0-1.Sofronitsky will now face the winner of the Gieseking-Neuhaus match.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Observations:As someone who performed for many years uninterruptedly on an instrument of Robert Schumann's era I can say that sonically Hofmann produces a drier edgier sound common to that era.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

The closest get to a 'Kreisleriana' contemp-orary to Robert is the recording Adelina DeLara made of it after WWII when she was 90A a student of Clara,her performance is of interest.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

No matter how we deludes ourself-we don't know how Schumann would have wished this to be performed.Nor would it be good romantic performance practice to care.Therefore what Schumann would have wanted is a specious goal & not applicable.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

In evaluating this the artists weren't judged on the philosophical era of their approach but rather for the success of their conception & execution in communicative terms.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Sofronitsky won on grounds of recognizing and communicating more dimensions and elements within this rhetoric.

[caijpp]

Dear Smith,

I wish you to reassess Hofmann's playing and bring him back into the race. If he's not the winner, he at least deserves the second place.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Dear Joyce,Hofmann is my favorite Kreisleriana and I'm amused but not surprised that in your own way you stumbled upon that.I made the first round sudden elimination and Hofmann had the misfortune of going against Sofronitsky who is no small potatoes in this piece.

[himitsunosallychan]

morinorobaさんとは受け取り方が違い、そこが音楽の面­白い所だと思います。この録音からは、Hofmann自身の、も­う落ち目とはいえ、それでも途方もないピアニズムは十分に知れま­す。でも感動しません。こういう曲ではRachmaninovの­ような泥臭い歌い方が好きです。それに何だか余りやる気がないよ­うに聞こえます。割愛したというより面倒くさいから止めたという­ような。

[himitsunosallychan]

Chopinのヘ短調バラードに比べたら月とすっぽんですけれど­。あれは酷いの一言です。本当に同じ年なのでしょうか。最近では­Valery AfanassievのKreislerianaを聴いて感動し­ました。すみません、下手な文と詰らない意見で。

いつもながらtruecryptさんに感謝です。こんな録音があ­るとは知りませんでした。

[antoinezygfryd]

C'est le Schumann que j'ai toujours rêvé.

J'ai les larmes aux yeux,devant une telle profondeur du son.

Merci pour ce cadeau que je n'imaginais même pas recevoir jamais!

[ClassicalMusicReview]

In today's Competition between Sofronitsky and Hofmann we are lamentably constrained to commence with 6.'Sehr Langsam' owing to Hofmann's omitting of that.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

1.Beginning at 4:48 evaluating the 'Sehr Langsam' is terribly difficult.Sofronitsky is using a wet impressionist's palette,while Hofmann employs the drier palette of Corot and Levitan.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

2.Sofronitsky's 'teasing of infinity' with the dissipation of sound between 5:11-5:12 is incredible,while Hoffman begins very dryly imitating a pianoforte.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

3.However Hofmann strikes back with his own infinity teasings at :12-15 & :26-29.BUT-the stunning thunderclap of :34-38 Hofmann strikes a contextual blow for which Sofronitsky has no answer.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

4.Footnote-The comparision begins better at 4:34 in Sofronitsky video.Hofmann is very courageous throughout by daring what most won't dare-He lets the sound die.2:20-2:40 is incredible.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

5.The incredibly kaleidoscopic epitaph to the resurgence between 6:00 and 6:13 is a great moment for Sofronitsky as is the bass vocali-ty at 6:24-6:35-Noble past definition.

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Judgement:Hofmann's dry windy kaleidoscopes with crunching bass thunderclaps are a brilliant counter to Sofronitsky's impressionist pedalings & poignant melodic finesse.DRAW! Sofronisky leads 1-0-1

[ClassicalMusicReview]

Footnote:Virtuosi of Beethoven & Schumann's time edited their pieces including concerti,

Therefore Hofmann is acting rationally.BUT-

Sofronitsky suffers because his 'Sehr Lebhaft' is an achievement that would not likely have been equaled.

[chad410]

as a discussion and that s all. I listened to the first movement and I thought it was one of the best performances I ve heard from a clarity point of view. but i know i will be hounded but this is not the Kriesleriana i would choose on my desert island because it is too hofmann and not enough Schumann. The hideous accents and what of the poetry? However still a fantastic performance. How did he get the first mvt so swift and well articulated. the last is too fast perhaps? A strange rendition.

[caijpp]

I agree with you, Chad. This is not the Kriesleriana I would bring to my primordial forest either. This has the trees, the beasts, the birds, but lacks the kind of ground I want to walk barefooted on.

[morinoroba]

真の音楽性、才能を堪能しました。ありがとうございました。

[weikko79]

Is this all there is?

[truecrypt]

Yes, Hofmann "shortened" Kreisleriana... unfortunatelly...

[garfreed]

@truecrypt  Yes, Hofmann did a lot of strange things!

[pianiplunker]

@truecrypt Easily the most most apocalyptic rendition of Kreisleriana. Hofmann is not the most academic friendly pianist.

[pianopera]

I bet J. Hofmann read E.T.A. Hoffmann...

[weikko79]

Read him? He was even related to him!

[caijpp]

Really?! How very strange...