Review by Irmgard Knechtges-Obrecht on Schumann's Dichterliebe by Randalu
Composer and pianist Kristjan Randalu, who hails from the Estonian capital Tallinn, updates Robert Schumann's famous lied cycle Dichterliebe op. 48, based on texts by Heinrich Heine, in line with today's pianistic range and imagination. In doing so, he follows the now common practice of jazzifying classical music. The wide range of possibilities must be implemented carefully and judiciously. What Kristjan Randalu has chosen as his template here is not necessarily close to jazz. Schumann's setting of Heine's poems offers melodies and words that are probably familiar to many people. Heinrich Heine – or rather his texts – are completely omitted from this version for piano. Schumann's music is not deleted, but it is greatly altered. So what remains of the familiar melodies we have in our ears?
While it initially seems as if Kristjan Randalu is drawing on the tradition of the great pianists of the 19th century, who used songs by Schubert and Schumann in particular as models for their brilliant piano paraphrases, it quickly becomes apparent that his approach here is completely different. With his idiosyncratic and modern musical language, Randalu goes far beyond traditional arrangements. He even explicitly distances himself from classical piano transcription. As a result, his music feels much more like a genuine new creation. Randalu attaches great importance to a broad framework for free approaches, in which he concretises his ideas, fixes them on sheet music and finally elaborates on them.
In any case, the jazz musician's improvisational skills and empathy are required, as well as a skilful balancing act between artistic freedom and fidelity to the original work. Randalu has experience with such undertakings, and you can feel it in every note. With great skill, he creates a musical work that is not actually new, but seems novel, and which can be easily followed by listening alone, without reading the score, if you are willing to engage with it. Not every listener will enjoy such ‘re-compositions’. Randalu's arrangements are exciting, rousing and lively, ranging in methodology from simple reworking to virtuosity in a free jazz style. The pianist has been intensively engaged with the 16 songs from Schumann's Dichterliebe for many years, which benefits the versions presented here. In developing them, he was mostly guided by certain melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements from Schumann's song cycle. Randalu takes the strikingly virtuosic arrangement of the piano part, its great importance and its equal weighting with the singing voice as a basis for refining his creations in a particularly creative and, in places, downright surprising way. In addition to a high degree of improvisational freedom, joy of playing, spontaneity and a nuanced and broad spectrum of jazz elements, the decisive thematic strands from Schumann's original usually remain recognisable. Outwardly, it is immediately apparent that some of the pieces on the CD are significantly longer than the corresponding songs in Dichterliebe.
All in all, an interesting, refreshing and unusual take on Schumann's ‘Dichterliebe’ that makes perfect sense, even without lyrics and vocals.
Irmgard Knechtges-Obrecht, translated by Daniel Höhr