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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Knight Rupert , Knecht Ruprecht (feat. Roger Roman)
Classical - Lançado por CP Projects - Solo Piano em 4 de abr. de 2013
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Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert Menges, Solomon
Concertos - Lançado por OBX Records em 19 de jan. de 2015
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...I dirke poslušaše / ...And so the keys obeyed
Marija Bajalica, Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms
Classical - Lançado por PGP RTS em 8 de jun. de 2022
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Schumann: Scenes From Childhood, Op. 15
Robert Schumann, Niagara Falls Piano Classic Philharmonic
Classical - Lançado por Pastel Records Canada em 1 de jul. de 2023
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100% Schumann
Classical - Lançado por Armasi em 19 de out. de 2018
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Masterpieces of Romanticism
Jürgen Demmler, Peter Grabinger
Classical - Lançado por ClassicalPirosDigital em 7 de jul. de 2015
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Los Grandes de la Musica Clasica - Robert Schumann Vol. 1
ORF Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra Berlin, Peter Schmalfuss
Classical - Lançado por ClassicalPirosDigital em 20 de jun. de 2015
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Album for the Young Op. 68
Classical - Lançado por BIG Music Classic em 20 de out. de 2023
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Robert Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Minor & Carnaval for Piano (1950)
Classical - Lançado por Classical Moments em 17 de jun. de 2013
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Schumann: Symphony No. 2 In C Major, Op. 61 - Symphony No. 4 In D Minor, Op. 120
Symphonic Music - Lançado por RHI em 12 de mai. de 2015
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Album for the Young
Classical - Lançado por Epsa Music em 11 de jun. de 2013
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The Power of Schumann
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 24 de out. de 2020
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ADDA Simfònica: In Focus
Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Christian Lindberg, ADDA Simfònica
Classical - Lançado por EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE em 5 de mar. de 2024
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Schumann: Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra in C Major, Op. 131 (Digitally Remastered)
Leningrad Chamber Orchestra, Eduard Serov, Sergei Stadler
Classical - Lançado por EMG Classical em 17 de fev. de 2015
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Notes from Endenich
Francisca Skoogh, Staffan Storm, Robert Schumann
Classical - Lançado por Daphne Records em 15 de jun. de 2020
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Dichterliebe (In Four Seasons)
Classical - Lançado por Albany Records em 1 de abr. de 2007
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Schumann: 4 Symphonies, "Spring"
Classical - Lançado por Denon em 1 de jan. de 2009
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Robert Schumann: Three Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Chamber Music - Lançado por Albany Records em 1 de mai. de 2014
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Schumann: Bilder aus Osten (Pictures from the East), 6 Impromptus for piano 4-hands, Op. 66 (Digitally Remastered)
USSR State Chamber Orchestra, Liyana Isakadze
Classical - Lançado por EMG Classical em 17 de fev. de 2015
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Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri, Op. 50
Ernest Ansermet, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Armin Jordan
Opera - Lançado por Cascavelle em 11 de abr. de 2007
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Schumann: Manfred, Overture in E-Flat Minor, Op. 115 (Digitally Remastered)
USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Andre Christyakov
Classical - Lançado por EMG Classical em 17 de fev. de 2015
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