Robert Schumann
One of the great composers of the 19th century, Schumann was the quintessential artist whose life and work embodied the idea of Romanticism in music. Schumann was uncomfortable with larger musical forms, such as the symphony and the concerto (nevertheless, representative works in these genres contain moments of great beauty), expressing the full range of his lyrical genius in songs and short pieces for piano. Schumann's extraordinary ability to translate profound, delicate -- and sometimes fleeting -- states of the soul is exemplified by works such as the song cycle Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love), after Heinrich Heine, and his brilliant collections of short piano pieces, including Phantasiestücke (Fantastic Pieces), Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), and Waldszenen (Forest Scenes). As other critics have observed, Schumann attained the elusive union of music and poetry which Romantic poets and musicians defined as the ultimate goal of art.
Schumann's father was a bookseller who encouraged Robert's musical and literary talents. Robert started studying piano at age 10. In 1828, he enrolled at the University of Leipzig as a law student, although he found music, philosophy, and Leipzig's taverns more interesting than the law. He also began studies with a prominent Leipzig piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck. There was serious mental illness in Schumann's family, and the composer, who most likely suffered from a manic-depressive condition, approached madness with the typical Romantic combination of fear and fascination. A compulsive womanizer and a heavy drinker, Schumann led a life that aggravated his psychological problems. His efforts to become a concert pianist failed after he developed partial paralysis of his right hand. According to a conventional story, the injury resulted from Schumann's compulsive use of a finger-strengthening device, but newer research points to mercury poisoning due to treatment for syphilis. Schumann settled on a career as a composer and musical writer, co-founding the influential Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and attracting attention early with his prophetic praise of Chopin. Many of his articles take the form of dialogues featuring the "League of David," young artists fighting the "Philistines," and headed by his alter egos "Florestan" and "Eusebius," intended to represent the two contrasting facets -- one ebullient, the other reserved -- of his personality. Schumann's music, with its sharp changes in mood, also reflects his tumultuous inner life. Wieck's highly talented pianist daughter Clara grew up and fell in love with Schumann, much to her father's horror. Despite Wieck's opposition, Clara and Robert gained the legal right to marry in 1840, a day before Clara's 21st birthday. During this period, Schumann composed feverishly. Spellbound by a musical thought, he would work himself to exhaustion, enthusiastically cultivating a particular genre for a period of time. (For instance, 1841 was a "year of songs" in which he brought the Romantic song cycle to its apex). He virtually invented the short, poetic, descriptive Romantic piano work, and produced such works in glorious profusion in the late 1830s. Schumann tackled larger forms in the 1840s, partly at Clara's urging; his four mature symphonies retain a place in the repertoire, but his opera Genoveva failed. He held several musical jobs, teaching at the newly founded Leipzig Conservatory, eventually becoming town music director in Düsseldorf, but without much success. On February 27, 1854, he threw himself into the freezing waters of the Rhine. After his rescue, he voluntarily entered an asylum. Although he had periods of lucidity, his condition deteriorated, and he died there in 1856, probably of tertiary syphilis.
© Zoran Minderovic /TiVo
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Howard Karp: Concert Recordings (1962-2007)
Classical - Released by Albany Records on 1 May 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe and Liederkreis
Stanley Wilson, Malcolm Halliday
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by MSR Classics on 10 Mar 2015
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Pizzetti : Canti della stagione alta - Sinfonia del fuoco
Robert Schumann, Susanna Stefani Caetani, Boris Statsenko, Oleg Caetani, Chor der Oper Chemnitz
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Apr 1999
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Knight Rupert , Knecht Ruprecht (feat. Roger Roman)
Classical - Released by CP Projects - Solo Piano on 4 Apr 2013
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Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert Menges, Solomon
Concertos - Released by OBX Records on 19 Jan 2015
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...I dirke poslušaše / ...And so the keys obeyed
Marija Bajalica, Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms
Classical - Released by PGP RTS on 8 Jun 2022
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Schumann: Scenes From Childhood, Op. 15
Robert Schumann, Niagara Falls Piano Classic Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Pastel Records Canada on 1 Jul 2023
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Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Classical - Released by JamadaDigital on 5 Feb 2015
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Mindru Katz Plays Robert Schumann (Recorded live in concert 1974, Jerusalem, Israel)
Classical - Released by Cembal d'amour CD 157 on 1 Feb 2011
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Masterpieces of Romanticism
Jürgen Demmler, Peter Grabinger
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 7 Jul 2015
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Los Grandes de la Musica Clasica - Robert Schumann Vol. 1
ORF Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra Berlin, Peter Schmalfuss
Classical - Released by ClassicalPirosDigital on 20 Jun 2015
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Album for the Young Op. 68
Classical - Released by BIG Music Classic on 20 Oct 2023
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Chopin - Schumann - Mendelsshon
Classical - Released by Irco Video on 15 Apr 2005
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Robert Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Minor & Carnaval for Piano (1950)
Classical - Released by Classical Moments on 17 Jun 2013
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The First and the Last Romantic
Classical - Released by Navis Classics on 18 Sep 2015
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Schumann: Symphony No. 2 In C Major, Op. 61 - Symphony No. 4 In D Minor, Op. 120
Symphonic Music - Released by RHI on 12 May 2015
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Schumann, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms & Gabriel-Marie: The Best Transcriptions for Double Bass & Piano
Chamber Music - Released by VDE-GALLO on 5 Jul 2013
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Album for the Young
Classical - Released by Epsa Music on 11 Jun 2013
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The Power of Schumann
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 24 Oct 2020
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ADDA Simfònica: In Focus
Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Christian Lindberg, ADDA Simfònica
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on 5 Mar 2024
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo