Arcadi Volodos - Schubert/Schumann: Piano Sonata No 17 In D Major Arcadi Volodos

After a long break, there is finally a new album from the poet and sound magician Arcadi Volodos. In addition to another great Schubert sonata, the "Gasteiner" in D major, D 850, the "Children's Scenes" with the famous "Reverie" are on the program of the exceptional pianist.
"The most difficult thing about Schubert is his purity, his absolute transparency," says the pianist. "His personality and spiritual world are revealed in silence." It is precisely at this point of quiet tones and nuances that the real work begins for the interpreter Volodos, because "this requires simplicity and depth."
After the great sonatas in G major (D 894, published in 2002) and in A major (D 959, published in 2019), Arcadi Volodos now devotes himself to the Sonata in D major (D 850), which is sometimes referred to as the "Gasteiner", which indicates where Schubert composed this work in the summer of 1825: during a spa stay in Bad Gastein, south of Salzburg.
Arcadi Volodos points to the "incredible sensitivity" of Schubert's music. Therefore, he is also an advocate of free design with flexible tempi. Because: "Music is a language, not an equation."
The second work on the new album is Robert Schumann's "Kinderszenen" with the famous "Träumerei" as the most famous of a total of 13 precious piano miniatures. " I think you understand these pieces better and better as you get older," says Volodos, indirectly pointing out that Schumann did not write these works for children. Rather, as the pianist explains, "it's about rediscovering that childlike wonder, that pure, honest view of the world that you search for all your life."
In this respect, this recording of the "Children's Scenes" seems like the sum of Volodos' artistic life to date: in the form of small sound jewels, he lets the grand piano shine, in all its colors, in all its nuances. This depth can perhaps only be achieved if, like Volodos, you maintain a rather clear repertoire, at least in public. "I love it when the works live in me and become a part of myself."
Born and trained in St. Petersburg, Arcadi Volodos, who became famous for his highly virtuoso arrangements of Romantic orchestral works, has been one of the most important pianists in the world since his international breakthrough at the end of the 1990s. He is a regular guest in the most important concert halls and festivals worldwide. His comparatively few recordings are regularly awarded the most prestigious international prizes.