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 Violin Sonatas - Wigmore Hall Live
Chamber Music - Lançado por Wigmore Hall Live em 29/04/2013
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Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Franz Konwitschny, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Symphonies - Lançado por Berlin Classics em 14/02/2007
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Schumann: Sinfonia No. 2 e Sinfonia No. 4
Orquestra Sinfônica Do Estado De São Paulo, John Neschling
Classical - Lançado por Biscoito Clássico em 06/01/2009
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Album für die Jugend (op. 68, Nr. 19 - Nr. 43)
Classical - Lançado por soundnotation em 16/07/2022
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An Evening of Classical: Schumann
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 30/09/2022
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Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev
Classical - Lançado por EMG Classical em 17/02/2015
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Schumann: Kreisleriana & Etudes symphoniques
Classical - Lançado por Solo Records em 01/01/2002
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Hans Gál: Symphony No. 4 • Schumann: Symphony No. 2
Orchestra of the Swan, Kenneth Woods
Classical - Lançado por AVIE Records em 19/03/2012
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Canti della stagione alta
Robert Schumann, Susanna Stefani Caetani, Boris Statsenko, Oleg Caetani, Chor der Oper Chemnitz
Classical - Lançado por Naxos em 01/04/1999
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Clara Schumann & Robert Schumann - Piano Works
Mara Dobresco, Robert Schumann
Classical - Lançado por Long Distance em 01/06/2003
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Schumann: Manfred - Tchaikovsky: Hamlet - Beethoven: Coriolan
Classical - Lançado por Urania em 01/01/2002
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Classical Spring
Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 20/03/2021
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First Loss. Piano Works by Beethoven & Schumann
Irene Cantos, Robert Schumann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach
Classical - Lançado por Novus Promusica em 02/04/2024
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Piano Recital
Classical - Lançado por Claves Records em 15/12/2014
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Schumann – Album für die Jugend - Album For The Young Part 2
Otto Lundsgård, Robert Schumann
Classical - Lançado por Prisma Music em 31/03/2023
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Schumann: Symphony No. 4
Robert Schumann, Christian Lindberg, ADDA Simfònica
Classical - Lançado por EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE em 15/08/2023
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The Art of Mstislav Rostropovich
Classical - Lançado por Regis Records em 22/08/2013
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Romantic Sketches
Chamber Music - Lançado por Gega New em 01/11/2013
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Schumann: Kinderszenen 'Träumerei' (Digitally remas.)
Classical - Lançado por EMG Classical em 17/02/2015
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Howard Karp: Concert Recordings (1962-2007)
Classical - Lançado por Albany Records em 01/05/2014
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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
Classical - Lançado por Marco-Polo em 01/04/1999
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