Matthias Kirschnereit is one of the key German pianists of his generation. They say of him that he finds the loveliest imaginable approach to the music: he is always seeking out its depth of feeling, its pulse, in a word its human characteristics. In the end, after exhaustive analysis and extensive study of the repertoire, he pursues this search “quite intuitively”, as he says himself. So it comes as no surprise that one of his musical favourites is the Romantic era.

The present CD is a portrait in more senses than one: in the first place, it portrays the pianist Matthias Kirschnereit, and in his choice of works it paints a picture of Romantic piano music. His most recent composer album for Berlin Classics, an acclaimed complete recording of the Songs without Words by Fanny Hensel and her brother Felix Mendelssohn, has naturally provided a few pieces for the present CD, and they are joined by Robert Schumann’s famous Waldszenen and Franz Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy.

The pianist explains his relationship to the music: “The composers I have brought together here, united by their phenomenal mastery of the tools of their trade and the originality of their genius, have each written coded human messages into their music, which are always to be found because they are so true and topical. And that will continue as long as human beings cherish ‘romantic’ feelings! This music is completely up-to-date, stirring, comforting or simply fun, and that makes me very happy and thankful. It represents a wonderful cultural legacy that it is our duty to protect and that is vibrant with vitality.”