Robert Schumann: Fantasies – Vinyl Edition
Original price was: £42.00.£33.60Current price is: £33.60.
Available 21 November, 2025Divine Art proudly presents the first vinyl edition of Fantasies, Burkard Schliessmann’s wonderful interpretation of the solo piano works of Robert Schumann. Now issued as a triple gold audiophile LP, this deluxe pressing follows the album’s acclaimed release on SACD and Dolby Atmos digital, which drew widespread praise for both its sonic fidelity and interpretative depth.
Recorded at Berlin’s renowned Teldex Studios with producer Julian Schwenkner and engineer Jupp Wegner, the album uses a 14-microphone setup to capture the full breadth of Schliessmann’s artistry – revealing the intricate emotional architecture and expression of Schumann’s writing.
Schliessmann draws out the music’s structural sophistication, making bold connections to Wagner’s Tristan, while interpreting with spacious, poetic lyricism. The result is a revelatory journey through Schumann’s psyche – one that Schumann Journal described as “completely new, surprising and unexpected… a MUST!” (Irmgard Knechtges-Obrecht), while the American Record Guide hailed the album’s “perfect” sound as “one of the most beautiful-sounding recordings I’ve heard recently” (Rob Haskins).
Pressed on triple heavyweight gold vinyl, this edition delivers analogue warmth and detail that will reward the most discerning listener. A vital collector’s release, Fantasies continues Burkard Schliessmann’s legacy of uncompromising interpretations and outstanding recorded sound.
Track Listing
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
- I. Äußerst bewegt (3:03)
- II. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch – Intermezzo | (Sehr lebhaft) – Erstes Tempo – Intermezzo Il (Etwas bewegter) – Langsamer – Adagio – Erstes Tempo (9:48)
- III. Sehr aufgeregt – Etwas langsamer – Erstes Tempo – Noch schneller (5:04)
- IV. Sehr langsam – Bewegter – Erstes Tempo – Adagio
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
- V. Sehr lebhaft (3:22)
- VI. Sehr langsam – Etwas bewegter – Erstes Tempo (4:47)
- VII. Sehr rasch – Noch schneller – Etwas langsamer (2:11)
- VIII. Schnell und spielend (3:45)
- I. Sehr rasch, mit leidenschaftlichem Vortrag (2:18)
- II. Ziemlich langsam – Etwas bewegter – Erstes Tempo (5:08)
- III. Kräftig und sehr markiert (3:17)
Nachtstücke, Op. 23
- I. Mehr langsam, oft zurückhaltend (4:17)
- II. Markiert und lebhaft (4:27)
- III. Mit großer Lebhaftigkeit (3:28)
- IV. Ad libitum – Einfach (3:32)
- I. Des Abends (Sehr innig zu spielen) (3:59)
- II. Aufschwung (Sehr rasch) (3:22)
- III. Warum ? (Langsam und zart) (2:53)
Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 Heft I | Book I | Livre I
- IV. Grillen (Mit Humor) (3:38)
- V. In der Nacht (Mit Leidenschaft – Etwas langsamer – Tempo I) (4:24)
- VI. Fabel (Langsam – Schnell – Langsam – Schnell – Tempo I – Langsam) (3:04)
- VII. Traumes Wirren (Äußerst lebhaft) (2:58)
- VIII. Ende vom Lied (Mit gutem Humor – Etwas lebhafter – Tempo I – Coda) (5:36)
Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17
- I. Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen (12:50)
- II. Mäßig. Durchaus energisch (8:11)
Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17
- III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten (9:03)
- I. Im ruhigen Tempo (2:40)
- II. Belebt, nicht zu rasch (2:11)
- III. Lebhaft (2:22)
- IV. Bewegt (2:26)
- V. Im Anfang ruhiges, im Verlauf bewegteres Tempo (3:08)
Reviews
“Burkard Schliessmann’s invitation to encounter the core of Schumann presents performances that enrich the soul in a recording that is surely unparalleled.
” —Colin Clarke
“Schliessmann’s interpretations open up completely new, surprising and unexpected horizons and lead into fascinating spheres of poetry, tone colours, expression and agogics. All in all, this album is not only highly recommended, but really a MUST!
” —Irmgard Knechtges-Obrecht
“The sound is perfect…one of the most beautiful-sounding recordings I’ve heard recently…this is a fascinating account of Schumann piano works well-known and not, and worth adding to a collection of recordings
” —Rob Haskins
“As with his other recordings, Schliessmann contributes an extensive, thought-provoking essay. Without hesitation I recommend this recording…there are many, many moments all through these pieces that repay careful listenings. This will certainly be my reference recording for all of the works here.
” —James Harrington
“Without invoking the names of poets Coleridge and Poe, nor the contemporary musician Berlioz, Schliessmann raises the deliberate ambiguities, harmonic and structural, in Schumann’s oeuvre that invoke the darker hues of imaginative expression.… Schliessmann’s realizations of the Schumann scores, therefore, bear the agogic and polyphonic textures that invoke menace and uncertainty, even while an otherwise placid surface presents itself, as in the familiar Arabeske in C. The recording from Berlin’s Teldex Studios, utilizing the Dolby Atmos process, has done Schliessmann’s keyboard good service.… Highly recommended, both to read and to audition.
” —Gary Lemco
“With Robert Schumann: Fantasies, Burkard Schliessmann has opened up new horizons for Schumann interpretation. His performances combine the intellect necessary to understand Schumann’s music, the highest level of poetry and just the right instinct for timbres, agogics and tempo.
” —Daniel Höhr
“Captured in superlative sound, his Steinway instrument is caught magnificently…Under Schliessmann’s fingers, the music seems to strive for an unknown other, and yet the search emanates from a heart at peace. Burkard Schliessmann, in his finest offering yet, offers a homage to Schumann for the ages.
” —Colin Clarke
“Burkard’s pianism is, as always, a thing of beauty to behold, at once limpid and limned, while always equally as constant in attention to the demands and details of the score as to the emotions and expressive gestures the written notes imply. In my experience, Burkard Schliessmann’s Schumann may be equaled by two or three pianists past—Richter, Horowitz, and especially Arrau—but he is not surpassed by any of them.
” —Jerry Dubbins
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