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: Kinderszenen 'Träumerei' (Digitally remas.)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 17 févr. 2015
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A Madness Most Discreet
Classique - Paru chez Champs Hill Records le 29 avr. 2016
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Howard Karp: Concert Recordings (1962-2007)
Classique - Paru chez Albany Records le 1 mai 2014
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Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe and Liederkreis
Stanley Wilson, Malcolm Halliday
Musique vocale (profane et sacrée) - Paru chez MSR Classics le 10 mars 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
Classique - Paru chez Marco-Polo le 1 avr. 1999
4 étoiles Classica16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Knight Rupert , Knecht Ruprecht (feat. Roger Roman)
Classique - Paru chez CP Projects - Solo Piano le 4 avr. 2013
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Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert Menges, Solomon
Musique concertante - Paru chez OBX Records le 19 janv. 2015
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...I dirke poslušaše / ...And so the keys obeyed
Marija Bajalica, Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms
Classique - Paru chez PGP RTS le 8 juin 2022
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Schumann: Scenes From Childhood, Op. 15
Robert Schumann, Niagara Falls Piano Classic Philharmonic
Classique - Paru chez Pastel Records Canada le 1 juil. 2023
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Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Classique - Paru chez JamadaDigital le 5 févr. 2015
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Mindru Katz Plays Robert Schumann (Recorded live in concert 1974, Jerusalem, Israel)
Classique - Paru chez Cembal d'amour CD 157 le 1 févr. 2011
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Masterpieces of Romanticism
Jürgen Demmler, Peter Grabinger
Classique - Paru chez ClassicalPirosDigital le 7 juil. 2015
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Los Grandes de la Musica Clasica - Robert Schumann Vol. 1
ORF Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra Berlin, Peter Schmalfuss
Classique - Paru chez ClassicalPirosDigital le 20 juin 2015
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Album for the Young Op. 68
Classique - Paru chez BIG Music Classic le 20 oct. 2023
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Chopin - Schumann - Mendelsshon
Classique - Paru chez Irco Video le 15 avr. 2005
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Robert Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Minor & Carnaval for Piano (1950)
Classique - Paru chez Classical Moments le 17 juin 2013
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The First and the Last Romantic
Classique - Paru chez Navis Classics le 18 sept. 2015
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Schumann: Symphony No. 2 In C Major, Op. 61 - Symphony No. 4 In D Minor, Op. 120
Musique symphonique - Paru chez RHI le 12 mai 2015
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Schumann, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms & Gabriel-Marie: The Best Transcriptions for Double Bass & Piano
Musique de chambre - Paru chez VDE-GALLO le 5 juil. 2013
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Album for the Young
Classique - Paru chez Epsa Music le 11 juin 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo