Poster Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
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Performance Today®

Robert Schumann's 200th Birthday

Today, the world is celebrating the 200th birthday of composer Robert Schumann. We know him as a great composer, perhaps the most Romantic of all the Romantic composers. But early in his life, he wandered a bit. He tried writing, he tried going to law school, he tried being a pianist - all before ultimately settling on composing. Our show is all-Schumann today, including a performance of his rarely-played Konzertstuck for four horns and orchestra, in a classic recording by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Plus, one of his unfinished symphonies, performed by conductor Roberto Abbado and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Robert Schumann: Third movement from Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Jonathan Biss, piano

Robert Schumann: First movement from Carnaval, Op. 9
The Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue, conductor
Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis

Robert Schumann: Excerpts from Dichterliebe, Op. 48
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone, Vladimir Horowitz, piano
Carnegie Hall, New York City

Robert Schumann: Konzertstuck in F for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86
Dale Clevenger, Richard Oldberg, Thomas Howell, and Norman Schweikert, horns, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Robert Schumann: Carnival in Vienna, Op. 26
Yefim Bronfman, piano
Ordway Center, St. Paul

Hour 2

Robert Schumann: Second movement from Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, conductor

Robert Schumann: Novelette, Op. 21, No. 5
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano
Royal Castle, Warsaw, Poland

Robert Schumann: Symphony in G Minor (Zwickau)
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Roberto Abbado, conductor
Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Robert Schumann: Talismane, Op. 141, No. 4
The St. Olaf Choir, Anton Armstrong, conductor
St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

Robert Schumann: Six Etudes in Canon Form, Op.56
The Weilerstein Trio
Jordan Hall, Boston

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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

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