How I loved playing with figures and miniatures as a child. Nice memories, which today still trigger cheerfulness, but also melancholy. This is how it usually happens to me when I hear Robert Schumann's “ Children's Scenes ”. These apparently so easy and technically not really demanding pieces are among the most famous piano works in the world. But at the same time they are among the most difficult, because they demand the full range of emotional expressiveness from a pianist. Quite a few - including well-known artists - have already failed.

Big challenge

Vasco Dantas , a very young pianist, born in Portugal in 1992, has risen to this challenge with his current recording.

"Poetic Scenes" is an album like a piece. Vasco Dantas has linked works by German composers and composers from his native Portugal. The pieces all have the same musical tenor, the same poetic power. Also interesting: all of the composers on the disc were either friends with Schumann or were among his admirers.

Successful career

It is actually rather rare that a pianist who is just 28 years old has such lyrical virtuosity. The exceptional talent has already won more than 50 prizes in international competitions. In 2019 he made his piano debut in the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York.

After the Corona period, it will hopefully be possible to experience him live in the concert halls again.

The “Children's Scenes” consist of a total of 13 small compositions, of which “Träumerei” is probably the best known. Schumann wrote this cycle in 1838. It is precisely this gem of musical poetry that requires special devotion and sensitivity on the part of the pianist. Vasco Dantas manages this not exactly easy task with playful elegance. His touch testifies to an enormous spirituality at the highest level.

The so-called fados are a musical form of expression of Portuguese origin. This style is also enjoying growing popularity with us. Vasco Dantas has done a wonderful job of No. 3 Fado, composed by Óscar da Silva (1870-1958). The piece has a rather folk character and sounds like a melancholy look at the diaries of bygone times.

In terms of sound, “Poetic Scenes” is beyond any doubt. The mood of these romantic pieces has been perfectly captured in terms of sound. The Super Audio CD (can also be played on any conventional player) is recorded using the hybrid multichannel method and should elicit a satisfied smile from even the most demanding of listeners.