
Through the direct juxtaposition of works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Judith Jáuregui traces their intimate artistic connection – a trusted companionship of reciprocal inspiration.
Robert and Clara Schumann had to fight hard for their love. Yet despite the resistance and hurdles that initially stood in their way, their marriage blossomed into a private and artistic partnership of equals, characterised by mutual inspiration. For her new album The Romantic Soul (Die romantische Seele) for ARS Produktion, Spanish pianist Judith Jáuregui has compiled four works that reflect the Schumanns’ intimate collaboration as both composers and performers.
Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 alongside the Orquestra Simfònica Camera Musicae and its chief conductor Tomàs Grau acts as the anchor point of the album, that is completed with solo works by Robert and Clara. In “Quasi variazioni. Andantino de Clara Wieck”, Schumann skilfully builds a fantastic musical scene around a previously unpublished theme of Clara’s and in her own Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 20, Clara Schumann uses a theme from the first of her husband’s five Bunte Blätter, Op. 99. The predominantly minor keys of the first works are elevated by the lightness of the final piece on Judith Jáuregui’s album: Arabesque in C major, Op. 18.
Judith Jáuregui’s first musical love was Robert Schumann. His Album for the Youth accompanied her throughout her initial years of piano study and she has felt a deep connection to the tonal and emotional world of both Robert and Clara Schumann ever since. In words of the artist: “it is impossible to imagine Robert without Clara, just as it is impossible to imagine Clara without Robert. It is for this reason that I wanted to bring their music together and reflect their trusting communion with a selection of works that were born of mutual inspiration. Their lives and work are a true embodiment of 'the romantic soul'".
Jáuregui discovers a deep-seated melancholy in all its sparkling brilliance, which shines through on this album again and again. In short, the pianist identifies herself here as Schumann’s soul mate with the finest touch, paired with elegance and delicacy
Audio Klassik
The performance is impressive; her interpretation speaks to the refined nature of the writing while remains passionate and honest… Jáuregui’s playing is elegantly restrained yet emotive, highlighting the romantic themes prevalent throughout the music
The Classic Review
Finesse and great sensibility
Piano News
Listening to this new album by Judith Jáuregui is, above all, a discovery of a leading artist, who plays without borders and finds her truth in musical power, but also in an overwhelming interiority
Mediapart
Jáuregui’s sound is simply beautiful: a festival of polyphony and fluidity…sobriety and elegance and a rare intelligence of contrast and nuance. A big crush
Audiophile Magazine