The year 1841 finally marked Robert Schumann’s breakthrough as a composer for orchestra. That year, he created no less than two works: his First Symphony, also known as the “Spring Symphony”, and a piece which he initially planned as a "Symphonic Fantasy" in one movement, and which would later become his Symphony in D Minor. The Spring Symphony was composed in the coldest winter. Full of longing, it is a work that knows only one direction: growing, blossoming, the path to light and new life. The Symphony in D minor seems much more somber and intimate, “a work from the innermost depths of his soul”, as Clara Schumann noted in her diary. However, the audience could not warm up to this bold, impetuous work, and Schumann set it aside. Ten years later, after a major revision, he published it as his 4th Symphony. This album pairs the Spring Symphony with the original version of the Symphony in D minor, the version which friends such as Johannes Brahms preferred over the later edition. Schumann never heard it again in his lifetime, and it was not until 1889 that it was performed in public once more, by the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne under the baton of Franz Wüllner. François-Xavier Roth, the Gürzenich Orchestra’s current chief conductor, also prefers the original version. With its leaner orchestration, it is certainly the more radical one, and thus requires a higher degree of commitment from the orchestra musicians in forming crescendi, melodic phrases, and extended arcs of formal development.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

SCHUMANN Romances and Ballads: Book 1, op. 67; Book 2, op. 75; Book 3, op. 145; Book 4, op. 146. Romances for Women’s Voices: Book 1, op. 69; Book 2, op. 91 • Rupert Huber, cond; SWR Folk Ens Stuttgart • HÄNSSLER (76: 04 & no translations)


In Fanfare 24:1 Marc Mandel, speaking of this rerelease, said “a lack of printed texts unfortunately proves a major hurdle when we listen to the disc of Schumann Romances and Ballads issued by Hänssler Classic.” No joke. Even the notes mention that “Schumann’s typical poetic sensibility and literary awareness are evident in his selection and compilation of the texts he set.” But we in the English-speaking world will never know this. Mandel also lamented that the German texts were not given, nor the poets who wrote them. Someone at Hänssler must have been listening, for the texts and designated poets are now present. But still, the lack of translations in works as unknown and esoteric as these, and the fact that part-songs are so comprehension-dependent for real enjoyment to be found, make this a really frustrating experience.


It was 1849 when Schumann first began work on these little jewels, and he continued with them until 1851, though most were completed the first year. Today they have evaporated from the public consciousness, though they are every bit as entertaining as Brahms and Mendelssohn, two composers whose choral work is sung more often. It might be the deceptive simplicity of these pieces; though many are seemingly straightforward and wholly songlike in essence, Schumann’s bold sense of modulation and some tricky manipulation of the sometimes jittery vocal lines make them more difficult than apprehended. The composer himself was quite enthusiastic about these works, and never even hinted at any idea that they were written for monetary considerations only, or were in any way relegated to a lesser status in his oeuvre. He composed them rapidly—a preferred state of mind—and felt quite confident in their worth. Today we don’t pay as much attention to this genre, forgetting that in Schumann’s day there were boatloads of choral societies always on the prowl for new and sing-worthy pieces.


As far as I am able to ascertain, this is the only album currently available where you can get these works together, and perhaps the only album period where you can find them. As such, it has a monopoly, and one cannot but be impressed by the quality of the recording, now 13 years old. If you are a Schumann collector, or want to explore this romantic angle on part songs, you will want this, as you can probably dig up the texts with some effort (Mandel’s review might help). This will find a place on my shelves because the music is so darned nice, but boy it really burns me that in a 22-page booklet they could not find room for the translations.


FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter

They took their name from the amulet in Michael Ende's Neverending Story", and their playing is equally intuitive, secretive, spiritual and polished when they perform the three string quartets by Schumann. The Auryn Quartet has been established at the top of international quartets for almost twenty years now, and this recording is once more a masterpiece of select, well-balanced quartet art." (Abendzeitung)

Classical Music

Robert Schumann's own spiritual world becomes most evident in his piano works. Bulgarian-Austrian Pianist Dora Deliyska talks about her new CD: "His emotions are strong and heartfelt, but by no means meditative. He sometimes presents us with several ideas at the same time, without leaving us time to experience everything at the same moment. Only when the music is over do you sense the influence and the inner change his music has provoked. With Schumann, the final note is the key opening the door to inner expression. You only have to be open and prepared to allow this overwhelming wave of emotions to act on you." This release features Kreisleriana OP. 16 - character pieces addressed to Schumann's later wife and great love Clara Wieck, the Kinderszenen op. 15 and two of the Six Studies after Caprices by Paganini op. 3.

Yondani Butt was born in Macau. He studied conducting with Wolfgang Vacano (1906-1985) at Indiana University, majoring in chemistry. He continued to study conducting with Josef Blatt (1906-1999) at the University of Michigan while pursuing his chemistry degree. Hailed by Robert Marsh of the Chicago Sun Times as ''an outstanding talent'', Yondani Butt has received acclamation from critics and audiences for his many recordings and concert performances. He died on August 28, 2014. ''Anyone seeking these two symphonies on one disc, together with a generous 'filler' into the bargin, could hardly do better than to acquire this eminently recommendable issue'' Robert Matthew-Walker, International Record Review on the original release of Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4.