Émile Naoumoff pf

Melism

Born in Bulgaria in 1962, Émile Naoumoff was the last disciple of Nadia Boulanger. He plays (in all the best senses) like a pianist of old, balancing respect for the music with a degree of personal freedom. He is unafraid to mine the internal spaces of Schumann’s Fantasie, revelling in the daring, pared down writing. Naoumoff offers a gripping performance of the first rank. He performs on a warm-toned Bechstein, one that enables both clarity and warmth.

With Naoumoff, one is never aware of the bristling difficulties of Schumann’s score. The prevailing impression is one of grandeur. And as one listens deeper, it is Schumann’s linear workings and counterpoint that stand out.

Naoumoff’s own arrangement of the song ‘Mondnacht’ (from Liederkreis Op 39) is a tender interlude before Carnaval reminds us of the kaleidoscopic nature of Schumann’s output. Here the grandeur of the Fantasie meets a teasing capriciousness. Naoumoff’s underlying aesthetic here is redolent of Jorge Bolet. Simply superb.