Edward Auer and Junghwa Moon Auer: Schumann CD in Review
Edward Auer and Junghwa Moon Auer: Schumann CD in Review
Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 – Junghwa Moon Auer, Piano
Schumann: Fantasie, Op. 17 – Edward Auer, Piano
Producers: Edward Auer and Junghwa Moon Auer
Culture/Demain Recordings (no catalog mumber)
Total timing: 59:27
Edward Auer is a Juilliard graduate who serves on the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Junghwa Moon Auer, his wife, a graduate of Yeonsei University in Korea and the New England Conservatory, is coordinator of the Edward Auer Piano Workshop at the Jacobs School, and a member of the artist faculty at Roosevelt University.
This new CD shows the Auers to be pianists of polish and refinement who both understand the idiom of Schumann’s music. The piano sound is good, and both pianists play with marvelous tone throughout.
Junghwa Moon Auer’s performance of Des Abends, the first piece in the Fantasiestücke, has a lovely calm, and subtle use of rubato. In Aufschwung, she brings out the contrasting moods of the different sections, such as the stately part in B-flat major, as opposed to the threatening buildup which leads to the return of the dramatic first theme.
Warum? is, perhaps, a bit slow, but has some beautiful soft playing, and an intriguing interplay of the voices. Grillen is slightly understated, yet jocular. (The marking does say Mit Humor!)
The night can be scary, and Ms. Auer shows this in In der Nacht, though, with her sensitivity to different colors, the F major middle section is a wonderful “escape” from the tension and tumult of the rest of the movement. Fabel, another piece of contrasts, is very effectively played. Traumes Wirren, which in some performances throws sparks all around, strikes this listener as light-hearted, but a bit sedate. The last movement, Ende vom Lied, is very fine, with a strong beginning, an energetic middle section in B-flat major, and a peaceful end.
After the loud, swirling beginning of the first movement of the Fantasie, Edward Auer plays a bit slower than one might expect, but everything “works.” The F major theme is eloquent, and the syncopated section which follows sounds appropriately improvisatory. There is a natural sounding emotional underpinning to everything he does in this movement. The last section, in C major, is slow, expressive, and deep.
The second movement is played at a strong, moderate tempo. Parts of the middle do seem a bit slow. The coda is certainly well-played, though some pianists take a more daring tempo.
Mr. Auer’s playing of the last movement is a spacious and calm unfolding of the material. In addition to the dynamic contrasts, which are effectively brought out, there is a sensitivity to coloristic possibilities as the work modulates. There is a very fine buildup in the last section, and then Mr. Auer goes “back down the other side of the mountain” to a beautiful, soft conclusion.
Donald Isler for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
