I'm sure many a Schumann-lover will be glad to have three such cherished works on one and the same disc. Even if not wholly crystalline in clarity, the recording is agreeably natural and mellow. And Peter Katin is always a sympathetically trustworthy guide. Never at any time does he allow point-making to grow idiosyncratically obtrusive.
Needless to say he is up against considerable competition in all three works on their own—and not least from Arrau in Carnaval (Philips). Though already approaching his middle sixties when he first recorded it, Arrau presents a younger and more fancifully imaginative Schumann. Katin's characterization is a shade less potent (as in ''Pierrot''), with tone-colouring somewhat less varied. But there is none of Arrau's occasional over-reliance on rubato for expressive effect. And I found his ''Valse noble'', ''Chopin'' and ''Estrella'' the more persuasive for that reason. But I think he underestimates the passion in ''Chiarina'' (i.e. the young Clara Wieck).
There's certainly no lack of ardour in the faster flanking movements of the G minor Sonata—even if he does rather play for safety in the breathless homecoming of the first (marked piu vivo and then noch schneller on top of the movement's basic so rasch wie moglich). And both bring their rightful lyrical contrast in second subject territory without excessive slackening of pulse. In these two movements Perahia (CBS) nevertheless offers more translucent tone and sharper-cut clarity of texture. His more incisive rhythmic bite is also an advantage in the opening section of the Scherzo. The slow movement is beautifully played by both of them in their different ways, with Katin sometimes even evoking the sentiment of a bye-gone age by playing one hand ever so slightly after the other.
There's just a touch of the same kind of thing in the more reflective numbers of Kinderszenen—like ''Bittendes Kind''. Katin's approach throughout is very much in the nature of a Ruckblick, nostalgic rather than graphic. Perhaps some listeners might want more pointed accentuation in ''Hasche-Mann'', a little more time and weight in ''Wichtige Begebenheit'', sharper articulation in ''Ritter vom Steckenpferd'' and more arrestingly spooky contrasts in ''Furchtenmachen''. But the performance has an affecting simplicity all its own. I enjoyed it just as much as Ashkenazy's for Decca.'