Search - Robin Holloway, Robert Schumann, Martyn Brabbins :: Robin Holloway - Fantasy-Pieces on the Heine Liederkreis of Schumann · Serenade in C / Toby Spence · The Nash Ensemble · Brabbins

This is an oddball program that clearly wouldn't exist were it not so captivating. British composer Holloway uses Schumann's Liederkreis Op. 24 (the lesser-known Liederkreis) as a jumping-off point for a five-movement suite titled "Fantasy Pieces" for diverse chamber ensemble. Schumann quotations are imaginatively changed in terms of harmony, instrumentation and intent with only a few blatant references peaking out the back of the atonal collages. Really, the piece is 80% Holloway. Schubert's ghost is more apparent in the winning Serenade in C, which is witty, jazzy mutation of Biedermeier manners (written for the same instrumentation as Schubert's Octet), which should be heard everywhere. Those who couldn't care less about Holloway will enjoy Schumann's original sung here by the exciting, young Toby Spence in a robust, alert performance. Elsewhere, performances by the Nash Ensemble are exemplary. --David Patrick Stearns