Choose artist...
Stories   >   Burkard Schliessmann chats with 88.9KUCI - Classical Impacts about new Schumann Fantasies album

Stories for December 07, 2024

Top 10 for Dec

More Albums with Burkard Schliessmann

Burkard Schliessmann chats with 88.9KUCI - Classical Impacts about new Schumann Fantasies album

Posted: April 10, 2024
Interview with KUCI

Burkard Schliessmann is regarded as one of the most influential pianists of the modern era. He has received numerous prizes and awards of merits for his piano interpretations, having studied under musical masters Herbert Seidel, Shura Cherkassky, Bruno Leonardo Gelber and Poldi Mildner.

Schliessmann has regularly performed throughout Europe, in the United States, Czechoslovakia, Japan, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. He has participated in many European festivals, such as the Munich Piano Summer Festival, the festival "Frankfurt Feste", the Valldemossa Chopin Festival, and the Maurice Ravel Festival in Paris, among others. As orchestral soloist, Mr. Schliessmann's performance highlights include his orchestral solo appearances with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Symphony Orchestra Wuppertal and the New Philharmonic Westfalia, in addition to other orchestras. He enjoys great popularity in media and has been showcased at major German TV-studios, including the Philharmonie of Gasteig in Munich, the City Hall Wuppertal, and the WDR West German Radio studio in Cologne. Mr. Schliessmann has been featured by the WDR radio in its program ZDF-aspekte in a joint production of the ARD/ZDF TV- channels. He has also been featured by BR Bavarian radio, HR Hessian radio and was broadcasted nationwide and throughout Europe in the cultural programs of ARTE, 3sat, Fidelio-ORF, UNITEL Classica and the US channel Classic Arts Showcase

Burkard Schliessmann has collaborated with highly renowned regisseurs, such as Jose Montes-Baquer, Enrique Sanchez Lansch, Claus Viller, Lothar Mattner, Peter Gelb, Dieter Hens, Korbinian Meyer, Siegfried Aust and others. Famous critics have had no hesitation in placing him alongside the finest pianists: "This is the most imaginative playing one has heard yet on the level of Richter Michelangeli, Serkin, Wild, Could - the highest order of artistry" wrote the "High Performance Review" in the USA.

Burkard Schliessmann is also an exceptionally gifted pedagogue: As "Distinguished University Professor" he teaches in International Masterclasses of Major-Universities throughout the world, especially in USA; among these are Curtis-Institute in Philadelphia, Lee University in Cleveland (Tennessee), Bastyr-University in Seattle (Washington-State) and others. His pedagogical concept is a unit of psyche and physis of each student and his individuality, taking this by a fusion of the art, music and the instrument. His students are coming from the United States, Europe, Russia, Croatia, Poland, China, Japan and New Zealand. Most of them are prize-winners of international piano competitions and are teaching themselves in universities or conservatories.

The pianist's distinctive interpretation of Robert Schumann's inner world through the groundbreaking recording project, "Fantasies." At Berlin's Teldex Studios, Schliessmann, having immersed himself in Schumann's oeuvre, sought to reveal the inner qualities of the music, pushing expressive and explosive boundaries. Collaborating with producer Julian Schwenkner and engineer Jupp Wegner, he employed 14 microphones for a Dolby Atmos experience, capturing the intricacies of Schumann's compositions on 3 SACDs, including an alternative interpretation of Fantasiestu¨cke Op. 12.

Revisiting the Fantasie in C Op. 17, Schliessmann accentuates structural complexities, drawing parallels to Wagner's Tristan, and presents rhythmic and technical extremes in the second movement. The 'Fantasies' recording unfolds a slower tempo in the third movement, providing a genuine listening experience with heightened poetry and explosive electricity. As Burkard Schliessmann navigates Schumann's intricate musical world in "Fantasies," this release stands as a landmark in classical piano recordings, complementing his previous album, "Live & Encores." A must-have for true collectors of excellent piano recordings, "Fantasies" continues Schliessmann's legacy of delivering extraordinary interpretations that resonate with the discerning classical music enthusiast.

LISTEN TO THE 88.9 KUCI - Irvine CA INTERVIEW