Burkard Schliessmann: Live & Encores
As well as exceptional performances, this recording offers phenomenal sound. The recording was made on 3-5 April 2023 at the Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Italy in 5-channel Dolby Atmos high-definition audio and is being produced as a hybrid multichannel SACD presented as a beautiful 2 CD boxed set and 60 page booklet.**
The instrument used is a Fazioli F278 which Schliessmann has purchased. The recording was made ‘live’ in front of a specially invited audience and thanks to the amazing support of the Fazioli family will also be presented in concert in Venice in the near future.
German pianist Burkard Schliessmann has been receiving glowing accolades everywhere for his concert performances and recordings, for his virtuosity and also for his individual and highly-considered interpretation of the great music from the late Baroque and Romantic eras particularly.
Following five previous albums all of which have been exceptionally well received, ‘Live and Encores’ offers the opportunity to present different interpretations in single take recordings of a wide range of repertoire. The double Album displays a variety of stylistic elements from Bach to Mendelssohn (whose early Romantic work was highly influenced by Bach) through the High Romanticism of Schumann to Chopin, whose single waltz here represents the pinnacle of Romantic pianism.
Track Listing
- I. Sinfonia - 4:31
- II. Allemande - 4:48
- III. Courante - 2:33
- IV. Sarabande - 2:55
- V. Rondeau - 1:23
- VI. Capriccio - 3:54
- I. [Allegro] - 3:58
- II. Andante - 4:06
- III. Presto giocoso - 4:04
- I. Fantasia - 6:57
- II. Fugue - 4:57
- I. Andante sostenuto - 0:48
- II. Variation 1 - 0:38
- III. Variation 2: Un poco più animato - 0:34
- IV. Variation 3: Più animato - 0:23
- V. Variation 4 - 0:22
- VI. Variation 5: Agitato - 0:24
- VII. Variation 6: A tempo - 0:22
- VIII. Variation 7: Con fuoco - 0:24
- IX. Variation 8: Allegro vivace - 0:20
- X. Variation 9 - 0:26
- XI. Variation 10: Moderato - 0:43
- XII. Variation 11: Cantabile - 0:42
- XIII. Variation 12: Tempo del Tema - 0:34
- XIV. Variation 13: Sempre assai leggiero - 0:49
- XV. Variation 14: Adagio - 1:04
- XVI. Variation 15: Poco a poco più agitato - 0:26
- XVII. Variation 16: Allegro vivace - 0:21
- XVIII. Variation 17 - 1:13
- XIX. Finale-Presto - 1:10
- I. Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen - 12:45
- II. Mäßig. Durchaus energisch - 8:09
- III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten - 8:18
- Valse in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 - Tempo giusto - 3:56
- Carnaval, Op. 9 - XII. Chopin - 1:30
- Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 - III. Warum? - 2:52
Disc A
J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826
Italian Concerto, BWV 971
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
Variations sérieuses, Op. 54
Disc B
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasie in C major, Op. 17
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Two ENCORES
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Reviews
“A double SACD…allows us to get to know a German pianist, Burkard Schliessmann, among the best and most interesting internationally in the last decades.
” —Andrea Bedetti
“The anthology of pieces presented…are extremely interesting and decidedly demanding…Schliessmann not only demonstrates his perfect mastery of the keyboard, shaping the sound material imbued with astonishing technical difficulty, but also manages to express its moving musicality
” —Andrea Bedetti
“Schliessmann’s performance shows he is well cognizant of…beauty. Robert Schumann’s famed Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17, is notable for the composer’s mastery in blending, contrasting, and superimposing timbres. Schliessmann takes all these issues in stride, making this an eminently satisfying account of one of the most difficult works in the repertoire…choice…encores…handled superbly by the present artist.
” —Phil Muse
“[Schliessmann] has reached the pinnacle sought and coveted by all players, which is to surmount all technical obstacles to the point where conscious awareness of them ceases to exist and all that is left is to dwell in the higher realm of pure music-making. Burkard Schliessmann is in that class of musicians. His latest album is most assuredly a must-have for pianists and lovers of solo piano music, but also, I’d say for the general music lover as an example of what musicianship at its finest is all about.
” —Jerry Dubbing
“It is impossible to find words to give this recording a higher recommendation. It has already earned a spot on my want list for the current year and I’ll continue to listen to it regularly.
” —James Harrington
“This most recent release by German classical Burkard Schliessmann…offer[s] moments of poetic transport, brief islands of relief between fateful urgings of the grandly sweeping landscape that feels conversant… Expressively nuanced, the music accelerates and retreats in coy, salon gestures, both bemused and subtle in their tragic lilt.
” —Gary Lemco
“From the grand, rolled chords of the “Sinfonia” of Bach’s Second Partita, several things become clear: this is an interpretation of conviction and clarity, caught in ideal sound and performed on a phenomenally well-prepared piano. This is a dream of a performance: one revels both in the loveliness of the piano and in Schliessmann’s playing. Schliessmann’s questing mind and solid technique present us with interpretations that convince at every level. Recommended
” —Colin Clarke
