Midori makes her PENTATONE debut in works by Robert and Clara Schumann

PENTATONE has released an album featuring Midori, pianist Özgür Aydin and Festival Strings Lucerne under Daniel Dodds in performances of Robert Schumann’s Violin Concerto and works for violin and piano by Robert and Clara Schumann.

 

“Midori plays with artistic maturity and undiminished instrumental mastery.
This is a compelling statement of the concerto, with firm support from conductor and orchestra.
Midori’s imaginative programme of late Schumann also includes pieces that are
more familiar in other incarnations…. She makes a strong case for the violin versions,
playing with charm, mellifluous tone and a long singing line.
Listen to the combination of expressive warmth, control and character
she brings to each of these lyrical miniatures.”   Gramophone 4/26

 

***** “Even without Midori’s insightful booklet note, you could guess
from this performance that she has a special imaginative empathy for this music.
Her loving rubato, generously fluid tempos and finely attentive phrasing
might sound too interventionist in many of Schumann’s contemporaries,
but here it’s finely judged and obviously deeply felt. …
This isn’t in any sense easy listening but, as Midori shows,
it’s the kind of music one can love, intensely.”      BBC Music Magazine 4/26