Welcome to our project! Our aim is to cover the production costs of the master tape, which will consist exclusively of unedited takes. Most record labels nowadays are inclined to dismiss this approach (been there, done that!), so basically the only way to pull this project off is to produce the CD ourselves. And this is where you come in!
WHY RECORD THIS WAY?
Remarkably, few people today seem to realize the need to foster continuity of emotion and spontaneity in recording Classical music -- even if that would mean leaving a few mistakes behind. What seems to matter most is a precise realization of the musical text, which then requires hundreds, or even thousands (!) of editing points. The end result is usually picture-perfect but also quite self-conscious and lacking (how should one put this?) a certain humanity. On the other hand, through the one-take-per-track approach a much more personal expression is achieved, as it basically captures a live performance. Just so you get an idea of what sort of results are expected, here's a demo recording we did last October to kickstart the project
(Incidentally, if you think you'd enjoy an entertaining history of sound recording, I cannot recommend enough Mark Katz's book Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music.)
WHERE AND WHEN WILL THE RECORDING TAKE PLACE?
We'll record in a church with wonderful acoustics in Cuenca (Spain), and it will take three days to complete (18-20 July, 2013). It's the same place where we recorded the Liederkreis Op. 39 demo, so you can judge for yourself. We're also going to record a concert on the 17th where we'll be performing the Liederkreis Op. 24 plus the original version of Dichterliebe Op. 48 (which has the four wonderful "extra" songs Dein Angesicht, Lehn' deine Wang, Es leuchtet meine Liebe, and Mein Wagen rollet langsam). Some of this concert will be uploaded onto SoundCloud, so stay tuned!
WHAT EXACTLY WILL BE RECORDED?
Don't judge a CD's by its cover: in addition to the two song cycles listed above there will be nine pieces for solo piano (the gorgeous Romance in F-sharp major Op. 28/2 plus a selection from Bunteblätter Op. 99). This information will of course be visible somewhere on the CD, just probably not on the cover. The total length should be around 65 minutes.
WHAT ABOUT THE INSTRUMENT?
Build by Paul McNulty in 2008, it's a copy of Conrad Graf's Op. 318 from about 1819. A realistic instrument to play Schumann's music from 1840, and gorgeous in every way!
HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE ALLOCATED?
Just the rental of the recording equipment for three days amounts to €2,664, and pressing the master tape another €600. Add fees for the two audio engineers & their assistant, a piano technician, travel and lodging costs for six people and the grand total actually goes a bit over €5,000.
WHEN WILL THE CD HIT THE MARKET?
As most of Spain goes on vacation in August, being realistic we're looking at mid-October at the earliest. It'll be available for download much earlier, of course.
Thank you so much for your support!
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