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Fanfare

In the Jan/Feb 2022 Fanfare (45:3), I reviewed At the Heart of the Piano, a three-disc release from Divine Art (DA), showcasing Burkard Schliessmann in music by Bach (arr. Busoni), Schumann, Liszt, Scriabin, and Berg. For the greater part, these are reissues of recordings previously released on the Bayer label. I summarized my appreciation for Burkard Schliessmann’s artistry:

Schliessmann plays all of this challenging repertoire with an impressively assured technique that is always at the service of the music. Schliessmann is a pianist who avoids such exaggerations as italicizing passages to showcase his virtuosity, extremes in tempo, or an excessive application of rubato. That said, Schliessmann’s interpretations exhibit a convincing ebb and flow, and the ability to draw upon a wide range of colors and dynamics to create the appropriate sound world for the work at hand. Schliessmann is also an artist with a keen sense of pacing. Both the Bach/Busoni and Schumann Symphonic Etudes are notable both for the accomplished and expressive way Schliessmann executes the variations, and the manner in which he connects one variation to the next.

A new release from DA (again, a reissue of a Bayer recording) presents Schliessmann in the Everest of solo keyboard variations. In the Jan/Feb 2008 Fanfare (31:3), James Reel interviewed Schliessmann, and offered a most positive review of the initial Bayer release of the pianist’s recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations:

For the most part, Schliessmann presents this as music of optimism and joy, the exact opposite of much of Simone Dinnerstein’s recording, reviewed in the previous issue. Oh, Schliessmann does know when and how to get serious, as in the extended (though not distended) traversal of the 25^th variation (discussed in the accompanying interview). Yet even here, the playing is not self-consciously weighty; he doesn’t try to make Bach sound like Beethoven… if you want something more in the tradition of Glenn Gould’s first recording, minus some of the peculiarities but plus the repeats, Schliessmann’s account is highly satisfactory. I share James Reel’s enthusiasm for this recording. The admirable qualities I noted in my review of At the Heart of the Piano are evident here as well. And Schliessmann does a superb job of realizing Bach’s all-embracing musical and emotional journey. In such episodes as the opening and closing Aria, and the aforementioned Variation No. 25, Schliessmann adopts a strikingly expansive, introspective, and poetic approach. But when the occasion merits, there is also a welcome lightness of touch, and even playfulness. In his extensive and thought-provoking interview with Reel, Schliessmann notes how essential the jeu perlé technique is not only to Mozart and Chopin, but Bach’s Goldberg Variations. And Schliessmann’s combination of precision and elegance in fleet passagework is most gratifying throughout this recording. The Super Audio CD sounds quite impressive on my conventional two-channel stereo system; Schliessmann’s Steinway D-274 concert grand emerges with richness and clarity. The pianist’s superb liner notes further enhance this admirable release. Recommended.