News & Media Appearances

American Record Guide "The sound is perfect ... one of the most beautiful-sounding recordings I've heard recently ... this is a fascinating account of Schumann piano works well-known and not, and worth adding to a collection of recordings " —Rob Haskins

Fanfare-Magazine "As with his other recordings, Schliessmann contributes an extensive, thought-provoking essay. Without hesitation I recommend this recording ... there are many, many moments all through these pieces that repay careful listenings. This will certainly be my reference recording for all of the works here. " —James Harrington

Audiophile Audition "Without invoking the names of poets Coleridge and Poe, nor the contemporary musician Berlioz, Schliessmann raises the deliberate ambiguities, harmonic and structural, in Schumann's oeuvre that invoke the darker hues of imaginative expression ...  Schliessmann's realizations of the Schumann scores, therefore, bear the agogic and polyphonic textures that invoke menace and uncertainty, even while an otherwise placid surface presents itself, as in the familiar Arabeske in C. The recording from Berlin's Teldex Studios, utilizing the Dolby Atmos process, has done Schliessmann's keyboard good service ... Highly recommended, both to read and to audition. " —Gary Lemco

Schumann-Portal "With Robert Schumann: Fantasies, Burkard Schliessmann has opened up new horizons for Schumann interpretation. His performances combine the intellect necessary to understand Schumann's music, the highest level of poetry and just the right instinct for timbres, agogics and tempo. " —Daniel Höhr

Fanfare-Magazine "Captured in superlative sound, his Steinway instrument is caught magnificently ... Underder Schliessmann's fingers, the music seems to strive for an unknown other, and yet the search emanates from a heart at peace. Burkard Schliessmann, in his finest offering yet, offers a homage to Schumann for the ages. " —Colin Clarke

Fanfare-Magazine "Burkard's pianism is, as always, a thing of beauty to behold, at once limpid and limned, while always equally as constant in attention to the demands and details of the score as to the emotions and expressive gestures the written notes imply. In my experience, Burkard Schliessmann's Schumann may be equaled by two or three pianists past—Richter, Horowitz, and especially Arrau—but he is not surpassed by any of them. " —Jerry Dubbins

“Un doppio SACD dell'etichetta discografica inglese Divine Art pubblicato qualche mese fa permette di conoscere meglio un pianista tedesco, Burkard Schliessmann, tra i migliori e i più interessanti a livello internazionale degli ultimissimi decenni, visto che nel nostro Paese il suo nome gira ancora quasi esclusivamente tra i soli appassionati di musica pianistica. Questi due SACD sono stati registrati dal vivo tra il 3 e il 5 aprile del 2023, quando il pianista di Aschaffenburg ha tenuto due concerti alla Fazioli Concert Hall a Sacile, eseguendo pagine di Bach, Chopin, Mendelssohn e Schumann, quindi mettendo in campo un compendio interpretativo con un preciso filo conduttore, che si può riassumere nel concetto dell'affiorare, tramite il Kantor, e del progressivo concretizzarsi del linguaggio tonale e della sua suprema affermazione pianistica attraverso quella triade di geni romantici, come lo stesso interprete bavarese ha voluto evidenziare nelle note di accompagnamento nel libretto in tre lingue (manca ovviamente l'italiano) ospitato nell'elegante cofanetto.”

“I am truly delighted that Burkard Schliessmann will be joining us at SOMM and we much look forward to welcoming him. His recordings for Divine Art have garnered wonderful reviews and his presence in the SOMM catalogue is sure to add extra sparkle to a very special collection of pianists ranging from past legends — Noel Mewton-Wood, Moura Lympany, Peter Katin and Valerie Tryon, to present-day stars such as Peter Donohoe, Leon McCawley, Mark Bebbington, Clélia Iruzun and Rebeca Omordia.

Burkard Schliessmann brings to his performances and recordings a combination of virtuosity, rich poetry and strong intellect which have singled him out as an exceptional interpreter of the classical and romantic repertoire. Bach, Beethoven and Brahms as well as Chopin and Mendelsshohn.

Our first meeting to discuss repertoire revealed an artist of passionate conviction, a colourful, kaleidoscopic personality and great charisma – a true breath of fresh air. Burkard Schliessmann, welcome on board!”