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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Lieder von Robert Schumann, S. 569 - Liederalbum für die Jugend, Op. 79: 1. Weihnachtslied (Arr. for Piano by Franz Liszt)
Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, German Kitkin
Clásica - Editado por Stereo Arts Classics el 25/04/2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cancan phantastique. Allegro
Nina Karmon, Oliver Triendl, Robert Schumann
Clásica - Editado por haenssler CLASSIC el 15/12/2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Live Recital: Massenet - Beethoven - Schumann (Live)
Bahar Büyükgönenç, Dilek Batıbay, Jules Massenet, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann
Clásica - Editado por Tanış Müzik el 19/07/2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scenes from Childhood Op. 15 (Guitar Version By Johann David)
Clásica - Editado por Classical Moments el 18/01/2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15, No. 2 "Kuriose Geschichte" (Digitally Remastered)
Clásica - Editado por EMG Classical el 17/02/2015
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Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9 (Digitally Remastered)
RTV Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Cherkasov
Clásica - Editado por EMG Classical el 17/02/2015
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Schumann: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A Minor, Op. 54 (Digitally Remastered)
North German Philharmonic Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmur, Ernst Gröschel
Clásica - Editado por EMG Classical el 17/02/2015
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Schumann: Introduction and Allegro Appassionato for Piano and Orchestra in G Major, Op. 92 (Digitally Remastered)
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Ilmar Lapinsch, Svetlana Botanina
Clásica - Editado por EMG Classical el 17/02/2015
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Schumann: Carnaval for Piano, Op. 9: I. Preambule-Pierrot-Arlequin-ValseNoble
Música de cámara - Editado por K&K Verlagsanstalt el 1/08/2010
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Fiammette Tarli plays Robert Schumann
Música de cámara - Editado por Gega New el 15/01/2010
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Re-Encuentro
Hip-Hop/Rap - Editado por Chicatano Records el 3/08/2019
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Lucia Negro plays Robert Schumann
Clásica - Editado por Swedish Society el 1/01/1991
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Er ist's (Nr. 24 aus Liederalbum für die Jugend, op. 79)
Clásica - Editado por soundnotation el 21/09/2022
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Minuet. Piano Works by Mozart and Schumann
Irene Cantos, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Robert Schumann
Clásica - Editado por Novus Promusica el 2/03/2024
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Piano
Stina Backlund, Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy, Alexander Scriabin
Clásica - Editado por Swedish Society el 1/01/1991
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Kreisleriana (Electronic Version)
Electrónica - Editado por Digi Records el 30/12/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Meine Liebste... (Liebesbriefe berühmter Männer)
Clemens Brentano, Kurt Tucholsky, Robert Schumann
Humour/Spoken Word - Editado por AUDIOBUCH el 1/01/1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Masterpieces - Schumann, Ravel, Brahms
Hamburg Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Jurgis Karnavichius
Clásica - Editado por Piros Comercial Digital el 23/04/2015
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Scenes from Childhood (Electronic Version)
Electrónica - Editado por Digi Records el 26/12/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Youthful Passion and Fantasy
Clásica - Editado por Americus Records, Inc. el 27/02/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo