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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Aram Khachaturian: Symphony No. 3 · Suite No. 3
Robert Schumann, Frank Beermann
Klassiek - Released by CPO on 17 apr. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann: "Kreisleriana" & "Waldszenen"
Robert Schumann, Valery Afanassiev
Klassiek - Released by Denon on 1 jan. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: The Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 6
Klassiek - Released by Claves Records on 7 feb. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kancheli: A Little Daneliade, Valse Boston, 18 Miniatures & Largo & Allegro
Elisaveta Blumina, Hartmut Schill, Robert Schumann
Klassiek - Released by Capriccio on 3 nov. 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Carnaval
Klassiek - Released by Odradek Records on 17 mrt. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann : Symphonic Works
Michael Schønwandt, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic
Klassiek - Released by Challenge Classics on 15 jun. 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann - Janáček - Berg
Kamermuziek - Released by Wigmore Hall Live on 10 jun. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
30 Must-Have Cello Romances
Klassiek - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 17 dec. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Recital for Piano
Klassiek - Released by Claves Records on 1 feb. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pfitzner: Die Rose vom Liebesgarten
Opera - Released by CPO on 23 jun. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wetzler, H.H.: Visionen / Assisi
Robert Schumann, Frank Beermann
Klassiek - Released by CPO on 27 okt. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Träumerei
Klassiek - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on 11 apr. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery
Alexander Shelley, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Les Productions Analekta Inc. on 24 mrt. 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann - Inspiring Classics
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 7 okt. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op 54 / Franz Schubert: Fantasy in F Minor, D. 940 / Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite, Op. 40
Klassiek - Released by RHI on 31 okt. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clara & Robert Schumann, Brahms : Recital
Christiane Karg, Malcolm Martineau
Klassiek - Released by Wigmore Hall Live on 23 sep. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kissin plays Schumann, Scriabin, Liszt, Bach
Klassiek - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 1 jan. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello
Klassiek - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on 11 nov. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: The Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 4
Klassiek - Released by Claves Records on 1 mrt. 2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clarinet Trios: Schumann; Bruch; Mozart
Leif Arne Pedersen, Henninge Landaas, Gonzalo Moreno
Klassiek - Released by Lawo Classics on 15 apr. 2019
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo