Composer of the Week - Robert Schumann (1810-1856) - A Law unto Himself

Born 200 years ago on 8th June 1810 in provincial Saxony, Robert Schumann's story is about as Romantic with a capital R as it gets - dead at 46, a love life worthy of the opera stage, his final years incarcerated in a mental asylum. The young Robert Schumann showed promise as a pianist, had great talent as a literary writer and critic, and composed sparkling often perplexing music. Yet, hand in hand with these qualities was a gaucheness that made Schumann misunderstood. For much of his life he was fought over by opposing factions - his parents over his vocation, his father-in-law and bride-to-be over his marriage, critics and performers undecided about his music and skills as a conductor. Donald Macleod sources the fascinating first-hand account of a man who knew Schumann well, his first biographer Wilhelm Von Wasielewski. Schumann's better-known pieces such as 'Carnaval' and 'Liederkreis Op.24' join company with rarely heard works including the astonishing oratorio 'Paradise and the Peri'. The ideal introduction to Schumann or a chance to re-evaluate a great composer in this his bicentenary year. Donald Macleod in 'A Law unto Himself' unravels Schumann's formative years and discovers how as a young man he couldn't make up his mind whether to become a lawyer, writer, pianist or composer. SCHUMANN Konzertstűck - 1st movt Lebhaft Roger Montgomery, Gavin Edwards, Susan Dent, Robert Maskell (horns) Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique John Eliot Gardiner (conductor) ARCHIV 457 5912 CD3 Trk 1 SCHUMANN Toccata Sviatoslav Richter (piano) DECCA 436 4562 Trk6 SCHUMANN Zwickau Symphony in G Minor Swedish Chamber Orchestra Thomas Dausgaard (conductor) BIS SACD 1569 Trk 6 SCHUMANN Abegg Variations Op.1 Edna Stern (piano) ZIGZAG ZZT070201 Trk6 SCHUMANN Papillons Murray Perahia (piano) SONY SMK89714 Trks 27-39.