Angela Hewitt has made a number of recordings of the music of Robert Schumann (1810-1856) for Hyperion, including one of the Piano Concerto and other works with Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Berlin and Hannu Lintu (CDA67885). Her 2007 recording of the Piano Sonata No 1 in f sharp minor, Op 11 and the Humoreske in B-flat, Op 20, is from hyperion-records.co.uk.

We seem to have missed this when it appeared but Dominy Clements wrote mainly appreciatively of her later recording of the Second Piano Sonata, Kinderszenen and Davidsbündlertänze on CDA67780—review—and I enjoyed this earlier recording if anything even more. It’s easy to forget, because Hewitt has made so many recordings of Bach on the piano that even lovers of the harpsichord appreciate, that she made her reputation with the Romantic and French repertoires. Another bonus is that you can follow up this Schumann recording with that of the Second Sonata and the other works.

There’s strong competition in the Sonata from a budget-price recording from Bernd Glemser, temptingly coupled with Piano Sonata No 3; I enjoyed that but it’s slightly less well recorded and I’m happy to go with Hewitt’s Schumann. If it’s budget-price that you are after, Hyperion also have a recording of the same two sonatas from Nikolai Demidenko on their Helios label (CDH55300) but Demidenko’s style, more forthright than Hewitt’s or Glemser’s, will not appeal to everyone, so I recommend paying the extra on this occasion.

Hyperion have recently released a fine new recording from Danny Driver of Schumann’s Noveletten and Nachtstücke (CDA67983). Geoff Molyneux’s review of that will have appeared in DL News 2014/15 by the time that you read this. I note that Angela Hewitt’s recording of the Liszt Piano Sonata is due for release on CDA68067 in February 2015.