Discography

QUINTETS FOR PIANO AND WINDS

Mozart Quintet in E flat major K. 452 for piano, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon

Beethoven Quintet in E flat major op. 16 for piano, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon

Sebastian Manz | Marc Trénel | Herbert Schuch | David Fernández Alonso | Ramón Ortega Quero

Indésens INDE039

SEHNSUCHTSWALZER

CD 1
Schumann Sehnsuchtswalzervariatonen
Papillons op. 2, Intermezzi op. 4, Carnaval op. 9

CD 2
Czerny Variationen op. 12
Schubert Walzer und Ländler
Weber Aufforderung zum Tanz

OehmsClassics OC 754

ZEIT staff recommend CDs and music books
"A clever exploration of Schumann's repertoire in which Schuch displays technique, intelligence and sensitivity! "
Die Zeit, December 9, 2010

" … Strauch is intelligent enough not to draw out the introduction (Préambule) to Carnaval tempo-wise – there is always a temptation on the live stage to be over-hasty, resulting in motivic distortion! (… ) This applies equally to Papillons, whose lively, almost dance-like, almost naive passages Schuch seems to bring together as if with emotional skill. (…) Schuch's interpretation of Weber's Invitation to the Dance [is one of the] best of the entire repertoire – at least known to me. I would go even further: this recording is not just one of the best, it is the best. …"
www.klassik-heute.com, September 1, 2010

" … all performed with captivating pianistic intelligence. …"
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, July 31, 2010

" … Yet despite all his conceptional and pianistic brilliance, Herbert Schuch never loses sight of the charm and the physical immediacy of the waltz. This is an entirely successful album."
BR-Klassik CD-Tipp, June 2010

" … Herbert Schuch performs brilliantly, with his highly nuanced playing. In particular, there are his original programmes in which he places works and composers in an exciting context. …" NDR Kultur, June 28, 2010
"Herbert Schuch: Sehnsuchtswalzer (Oehms Classics) - the title sounds a bit kitsch, but in fact it reveals a really cleverly compiled new release in Schumann anniversary year."
Die Welt, July 29, 2010

" … Schuch finds the longing tone perfectly, the gentleness, the enigma, the soaring pitch …" Rheinischer Merkur, June 17, 2010

" … With 'Carnaval' Herbert Schuch joins a series of renowned performers, in presenting an articulate and personal reading. In the 'Sphinxes' Schuch endeavours to change listening habits using modern playing technique. And what an endeavour! Before that, in the 'Papillons' (butterflies), and – a special treat, because we hear them so seldom – in the half-dozen Intermezzi op. 4, Schuch succeeds in extracting the dance-like elements. ..."
www.drehPunktKultur.at, June 19, 2010

NACHTSTÜCKE

Schumann Nachtstücke op. 23

Holliger Elis – Drei Nachtstücke

Scriabin Sonata No. 9 op. 68 „Messe noire“

Ravel Gaspard de la nuit

Mozart Adagio in B minor K. 540

OehmsClassics OC 733

"... The rarely heard Schumann Nachstücke are given an idiomatic performance here. Influenced by the writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the movements were originally called 'funereal fantasies' as a group, with each movement also having its own title, appellations that were subsequently rejected prior to publication. Schuch brings out their quirky, darkness-obsessed nature. Holliger's Elis (1961/66), a work that depends on gesture an contrast, comprises three nocturnes of Webernesque intensity and makes use of silence similar to that of the great master. Schuch plays the music with real dedication - I look forward to hearing him in similar repertoire. ..."

Piano International, September 2009

" Herbert Schuch's provocatively programmed recital built around "Night Pieces" matches an perhaps even surpasses the extraordinary standards set by the young pianist's earlier Oehms Classics solo release. Few keyboard artists have conveyed the somber darkness and lyrical light that characterize Schumann's Nachtstücke (...)

One of the finest piano discs of 2009, for that matter, any other year."

www.classicstoday June 4, 2009 rating 10/10 points

"This brave conceptual album strides in a self-confident manner through musical eras: Schumann's manically obsessive Nachtstücke of 1839 are followed by three sketches by Heinz Holliger, Skrjabin's Black Mass sonata and Ravel's radical piece Gaspard de la nuit. The way that pianist Herbert Schuch (30) gives each work its due and closes with Mozart's matchless B minor Adagio is proof of real class."

Kultur SPIEGEL - April 2009

SCHUBERT LACHENMANN

Schubert Piano Sonatas D 537 & D 894
Lachenmann Five Variations on a theme by Schubert | Guero

“The pianist who catches Schubert’s piano tone has proved himself
as an artist. But 29-year-old Herbert Schuch can do more than that.
His profound interpretation of the D 537 and D 894 sonatas is set
amid works by Lachenmann: the Schubert Variations (...) and the
cheeky anti-music ‘Guero’.”
Kultur SPIEGEL, April 2008

RAVEL SCHUMANN

Ravel Miroirs
Schumann Kreisleriana
OehmsClassics OC 541

MIRIJAM CONTZEN | HERBERT SCHUCH

Brahms Sonata No. 3 op. 108
Schubert Fantasia in C Major, D 934, op. 159
Zemlinsky Serenade for Violin and Piano in A major
OehmsClassics OC 596

(...) Even if there is so much difference in the style of the
three Viennese compositions, Contzen and Schuch succeed
even in the fierce, more brusque Brahms in tracing similarities
between them all.”
ensemble — Magazine for Chamber Music October-November 2007

more CD reviews at downloads
orders and snippets at www.oehmsclassics.de

KLAVIER-FESTIVAL RUHR

Edition Klavier-Festival Ruhr Volume 18 12/2007
Beethoven | Liszt | Saint-Saëns

Beethoven "Coriolan" Overture in C minor op. 62
Fantasia for Piano, Choir and Orchestra in C minor op. 80

more information and CD orders at www.klavierfestival.de

KLAVIER-FESTIVAL RUHR

Edition Klavier-Festival Ruhr Volume 15 2006/07
NATIONAL-BANK COLLECTION III Portraits

Dimitri Bashkirov | Herbert Schuch | David Fray | Robert Levin
Christian Chamorel & Sigfried Mauser | Vladimir Kharin

Works by Helmut Lachenmann, Franz Schubert,
Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann