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RIP a great pianist whom I've heard a few times in Beirut in the 1980s. I remember his straightforward ways with Brahms' Handel Variations and Mussorgsky's Pictures. I don't recall whether he played the Diabelli Variations in concert but I bought his recording which is absolutely perfect.

Being one of relatively few words and even less patience, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance, which has a sincerity not found anywhere in the long list of the current usual suspects of pianism. Schnurr- a pupil of Cortot and Kempff-has had a reissue from 1980 of Brahms Op.24 and Reger Op.81. I have ordered it on the strength of this performance alone.

Yet another very competent performance by someone I'd never heard of. The substantial part of the first movement has all the fluctuating dynamics and speeds that would complement a natural history film showing weeds swaying to and fro in the current of a fast-moving chalk stream, with fish trembling to stay in the same place. The Im lebhaften Tempo section is well-articulated, with observance of all the staccato groupings at the tops of phrases; and the whole Im Legendenton section is beautifully-judged, if a little slower than average where it's supposed to pick up tempo again, at the end of bar 164. I suppose, the first proper criticism is that he's very imprecise with the rhythm of the notes that lead off the phrases in the next Im Tempo section: The demisemiquaver leading into bar 195 is more a semiquaver, and he halves the length of the semiquaver at the end of bar 198. I love the way he tumbles down the diminished arpeggio at the end of bar 212, and slows towards the next pause, just as Schumann marks. He does what most do and diminuendos at the end of bar 267 (and where it happens earlier, in bar 75); and shortens the quavers between bar 274 and 275 (and 82/3), which I don't like. The next passage, each time, is restrained compared with others' styles. I also don't like the way he does the first group of chromatic chords in the An die ferne Geliebte quotes passage semi-staccato, as written, and then makes the other legato. Overall, though, this is one of the most convincing first movements out of over seventy I've now heard, and I was fully expecting Schnurr to join the half-dozen names at the top of my pile. I began to develop reservations with the second movement, which to me has more a mood of reflection tinged with melancholy rather than out-and-out triumphalism. That word restrained came more to the fore here. The speeds, and range of dynamics, are restrained and conservative throughout, at least till the Coda. He compresses the dynamics so that we never have full-blown fortissimi nor tip-toeing pianissimi. It comes across as Beethoven without the fire. The Etwas langsamer section is slightly laborious to listen to, with a lack of rubato, but picks up from bar 131. The scherzando that follows starts well, but turns stodgy where the lines become more legato. The Coda is pretty impressive; it's surprising how many modern performers manage to play it quickly and flawlessly, although it's not scintillating, unlike that of the elderly Horowitz's live performance (which was far from flawless, note-wise). Often at this point I wonder if the final movement is going to retrieve or ruin what has gone before. That word restrained is entirely appropriate at the start, so I was optimistic that this could join my leaders. But restrained became a negative word again when we reached the passages from bar 30 which constantly switch from a very still and pianissimo few bars to a couple that are more urgent and seeking. Like in the second movement, Schnurr tends to even out the contrasts, which is a pity because it reduces the intensity. As with several other places through the whole work, Schnurr seems to think that where a hairpin ends, the reverse hairpin should happen to some extent leading into the opposite dynamic, such as between bar 43 and 44. But this subito piano immediately after a crescendo is so much a feature of Schumann's piano-writing style, and shouldn't be smoothed out. The big build-ups to the massive crashing chords at bars 68 and later, at 119, are disappointing, and he ignores the sforzandi. He's very good at the tender passages, but there's no sense of forward momentum and intensity-building towards the climaxes. The Coda starts well, but the off-beat chords are a bit ploddy. He builds nicely, if a little unevenly - rather like Richter does - and he hits the climax at about the right moment, but there's no sense of magic and wonder in this matter-of-fact ending. There is much to praise in this account, but the piece is all emotion, and if that element is lacking or restrained in the playing, it loses most of its point. After a very promising opening movement, it dissipated somewhat and failed to engage properly afterwards.