Schumann's Concerto could hardly receive more effective advocacy

Only two of the works in this forwardly recorded anthology – the Fünf Stücke im Volkston of 1840 and the Cello Concerto of a year later – were originally inspired by the cello. But in closely attuned, super-sensitive partnership with Eschenbach as both conductor and pianist, Steven Isserlis somehow persuades us that no instrument better revealed 'the beloved dreamer whom we know as Schumann', as Tovey once put it. Helped by unhurried tempos and a lovely voiced c1745 Guadagnini cello, Isserlis draws out the rich, nostalgic poetry of the concerto's first two movements with the eloquence of speech. And with his buoyancy of heart and bow he silences all criticism of the finale – even its low-lying cadenza (this he subsequently plays again with the composer's surely less effective flourish for the soloist in the closing bars). The five engaging Volkston pieces with piano are vividly characterised and contrasted in mood. And the Op 73 and Op 70 miniatures lose nothing through transfer from clarinet and horn respectively to one of the composer's two optional alternatives.
The Adagio and Allegro for horn surely gains in expressive intimacy and vitality when bowed rather than blown. The Offertorium is sung by Felicity Lott with heart-easing beauty. The inclusion of a hitherto unrecorded, noble Adagio by Clara Schumann's gifted half-brother, Woldemar Bargiel, also helps to make this disc a collector's piece.