Schumann: Waldszenen / Carnaval / Geistervariationen

"The South Korean pianist Dasol Kim began playing at 11 and by the age of 15 had won his first international competition. He studied with Arie Vardi in Hanover and his subsequent discography includes Schumann solo works (DG, 2015), Beethoven (Naxos, 2022), Schubert (Aparté, 2023) and Schumann chamber music (Onyx, 11/24). His latest release returns to Schumann and was recorded in Munich in April 2025. Kim is a fluent pianist with exquisite purity of sound even in the most hushed dynamics. He is also possessed of a rich imagination, expressed within a scrupulous fidelity to the score.

The so-called Ghost Variations were composed shortly before and after Schumann's suicide attempt in 1854. Not published until 1939, today some 35 recordings are available. Happily, Kim doesn't scour the score for non-existent weight or portent but presents this music at face value. The result is neither static nor languid, but imbued with a sense of repose, which one might construe as Schumann's loving farewell to Clara, to whom the work is dedicated." Gramophone Editor's Choice