if you want the living definition of virtuoso pedalling, listen to Andras Schiff in the 'Aria' movement of Schumann's F sharp minor Sonata...It's the most impressive realisation of Schumann's challenging pedal markings that I have ever heard. Schiff's ability to 'voice' piano writing is perhaps his outstanding feature as a performer...the whole set is full of the pure, Olympian beauty and intellectual sharpness that characterise Schiff at his finest.

Schiff brings a touching intimacy to the suites of short character pieces that make up Papillons, Kinderszenen and Waldszenen, while relishing the grander gestures of the C major Fantasie that makes this absorbing release more so, for Schiff plays Schumann's original ending of the third movement (he tracked it down in the 1970s) which returns to the first Beethoven quote that ends the first movement.

[the Ghost Variations] make a touching ending to a series of wonderfully thoughtful and carefully detailed performances. In Schiff's hands, the F sharp minor Sonata becomes much more introspective than usual. But Schumann lovers will be most intrigued by his account of the great C major Fantasy. Here, rather than the familiar ending, he plays what appears to have been Schumann's original idea.

Schiff's exquisite double-disc recital takes its title from the Ghost Variations of 1854, composed to a theme dictated by angels in the hallucinatory days before Schumann threw himself into the Rhine...Schiff is too subtle a musician to allow a single thesis to dominate. Yet the fine line between dream and delusion can be felt elsewhere, not least the C major Fantasy

Schiff’s lightness of touch in the miniatures which make up Papillons is a delight, and Kinderszenen never sounds clichéd – this is the sweetest, sincerest Träumerai I’ve heard. Schiff also gives us the nine Waldszenen – Vogel als Prophet has a probing, improvisatory feel, and the Jagdlied has bounce and swagger...Astonishing playing, stunningly recorded and very well annotated.