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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Schumann: Overture Manfred, Op. 115 - Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 (Live)
Musique concertante - Paru chez VDE-GALLO le 16 févr. 2010
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Harro Ruijsenaars & Paul Komen
Classique - Paru chez CDklassisk le 30 avr. 2013
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Schumann Piano Works
Classique - Paru chez CDklassisk le 27 oct. 2013
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Schumann Lieder - Mozart Arias
Christian Boesch, Bien S. P. Panganiban
Opéra - Paru chez Americus Records, Inc. le 5 févr. 2014
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Schumann and Brahms
Classique - Paru chez Blue Griffin Recording, Inc. le 13 nov. 2015
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Schumann: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 134 (Digitally Remastered)
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Ilmar Lapinsch, Svetlana Botanina
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Schumann: Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 97 (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra, Peter Lilye
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15, No. 4 "Bittendes Kind" (Digitally Remastered)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Robert Schumann: Three Sonaatas for Violin and Piano
Jennifer Frautschi, John Blacklow
Classique - Paru chez Albany Records le 1 mai 2014
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Schumann: Album for the Young, Op. 68, No. 2 "Soldatenmarsch" (Digitally Remastered)
Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Riga Radio Choir, Ilmar Lapinsch
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Schumann: Panis Angelicus (Digitally Remastered)
Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Riga Radio Choir, Ilmar Lapinsch
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Grand Piano Masters - The Legend of Dombra
Classique - Paru chez K&K Verlagsanstalt le 1 nov. 2009
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Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 14 (Digitally Remastered)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Schumann: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A Minor, Op. 54 (Digitally Remastered)
Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Bystrík Režucha, Marian Lapsansky
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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A Schumann Fantasy
Classique - Paru chez Summit Records le 1 janv. 1993
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Schumann: Studies in the Form of Canons for Organ, Op. 56 (Digitally Remastered)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto; Antonín Dvorák: Symphony No. 8
Gerald Robbins, Kenneth Klein, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Musique concertante - Paru chez MSR Classics le 13 nov. 2009
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Schumann: Piano Quintet, Op. 44 & Piano Quartet, Op. 47
Jozef de Beenhouwer, Panocha String Quartet
Classique - Paru chez PHAEDRA le 11 mai 2010
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Schumann: Studies in the Form of Canons for Organ, Op. 56 (Digitally Remastered)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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Schumann and Friends
Classique - Paru chez Heritage Records le 31 mars 2015
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Schumann: Dichterliebe, Fantasie In C Major
Classique - Paru chez Pipeline Music le 29 nov. 2006
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