Mikhail Pletnev gives polished, serious performances of these
Schumann works. It is not that they are cold or uninviting, but more that normal people are to admire, but not touch them.
Pletnev is always in control, making sure throughout the Symphonic Etudes that the melody is obvious and on top of whatever else may be going on. Each variation and etude is technically perfect, and even though there is a wide range of emotion, it is always sober. The less weighty ones, such as Etude No. 3, and Variations No. 4 and No. 5 have no sunshine in them. The brief Etude No. 9, marked Presto possible, is like a gnawing interpretation of
Mendelssohn's fairy music. The Fantasie also seems to exist on a higher plane than that of mere mortals. The second movement is a bit more engaging in its energy, but the otherworldly remoteness returns in the final movement. The Albumblätter and Arabeske receive a similar treatment. Yes,
Schumann had a hard, depressing life, and yes, he was a genius composer, but surely, there is room in this music for some brightness, some sense of his humanity. Wonderful as
Pletnev's playing is, he has made other recordings where he invites the listener into the music more than he does with these
Schumann pieces.