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
Classical - Released by CPO on Apr 17, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann: "Kreisleriana" & "Waldszenen"
Robert Schumann, Valery Afanassiev
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: The Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 6
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Feb 7, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kancheli: A Little Daneliade, Valse Boston, 18 Miniatures & Largo & Allegro
Elisaveta Blumina, Hartmut Schill, Robert Schumann
Classical - Released by Capriccio on Nov 3, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Carnaval
Classical - Released by Odradek Records on Mar 17, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann : Symphonic Works
Michael Schønwandt, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Jun 15, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
30 Must-Have Cello Romances
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on Dec 17, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Recital for Piano
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Feb 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pfitzner: Die Rose vom Liebesgarten
Opera - Released by CPO on Jun 23, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wetzler, H.H.: Visionen / Assisi
Robert Schumann, Frank Beermann
Classical - Released by CPO on Oct 27, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Träumerei
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on Apr 11, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery
Alexander Shelley, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra
Classical - Released by Les Productions Analekta Inc. on Mar 24, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann - Inspiring Classics
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on Oct 7, 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
Classical - Released by RHI on Oct 31, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kissin plays Schumann, Scriabin, Liszt, Bach
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Jan 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello
Classical - Released by Cobra Entertainment LLC on Nov 11, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: The Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 4
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Mar 1, 2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clarinet Trios: Schumann; Bruch; Mozart
Leif Arne Pedersen, Henninge Landaas, Gonzalo Moreno
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on Apr 15, 2019
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Grandi Pianisti Clara Haskil
Clara Haskil, Robert Schumann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on May 21, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From Leipzig to Madrid: Piano Works by Schumann & Arzamendi
Noemí Teruel Serrano, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Beatriz Arzamendi
Classical - Released by Novus Promusica on May 2, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo