Arcadi Volodos records infrequently, making each album something of an event. His latest release pairs two staples of the Romantic piano repertory: Schubert's D major sonata D850 and Schumann's Kinderszenen. Though these works couldn't be more different, Volodos manages to bind them together, bringing elasticity and a dash of fantasy to the Schubert while investing the Schumann with a dose of Schubertian longing.
Schubert Sonata D850
In the sonata's opening Allegro vivace, Volodos is far less headstrong than pianists like Alfred Brendel or Radu Lupu, but notably more flexible – daringly so at times. Measured phrases are shaded with supple rubato, and the line is enlivened with tiny dynamic emphases. The expressive slow movement, laced with musical question marks, exudes a calm benevolence. Volodos can be playful, too, with a mischievous take on the disorderly scherzo and a dainty finale that borders on the coquettish.
Schumann Kinderszenen
Kinderszenen, infused here with an adult's sense of nostalgia, ranges widely. Flightier music boasts a robust warmth, contrasting with gentler movements where the tone is sometimes pared down to a whisper. Volodos brings a relaxed elegance to Von fremden Ländern und Menschen, crystalline technique to Hasche-Mann (though without the wit of a Horowitz), and a weightless refinement to Träumerei. A wistful Der Dichter spricht brings the cycle to a close, the music dissolving into vaporous nothingness.
