The Young Schumann: Carnaval, Papillons, Intermezzi, Abegg Variations – Charles Owen

The Young Schumann, the new release by British pianist Charles Owen, is a musical narrative of Robert Schumann’s early career, featuring works written in the 1830s when the composer was in his 20s. His first two published works, Abegg Variations and Papillons, the impetuous six Intermezzi, Op. 4, and the characterful Carnaval, Op. 9, are all fuelled by some of Schumann’s compositional hallmarks: his imagination and attraction to the fantastical, his love of ciphers and cryptograms, and his frequent quoting of each work within the others.

Charles Owen, described by Gramophone magazine as ‘one of the finest pianists of his generation’, has recorded a new album dedicated to the music of The Young Schumann, on Avie Records. Matthew Ash enjoyed a chat with Charles ahead of the album release on 15th November, about the new recordings, his development as a musician, the two-way nature of teaching, and pianos.