# opinions on Schumann's violin concerto



## zelenka (Feb 8, 2018)

This works is really mysterious, it's not widely known nor even considered a major work by Schumann yet it captures me everytime I listen to it, espceially this extraordinary recording






It's kind of melancholic but not very depressing piece escpecially the 1st movement; considering the mental and health issues Schumann had while writing this work, it's really one of the best violin concertos I ever heard in my opinion


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Thank you for bringing this to listeners’ attention. I’ve never heard it before and was deeply moved and impressed by listening to the first movement. It’s deeply symphonic and its grand opening reminds me of what may have prompted the epic opening of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto. 

Schumann’s Concerto has a fascinating background and the manuscript was rediscovered through a séance! Jochim, Clara Schumann, and Brahms were against it being released because they may have felt that the work was the product of Schumann’s madness toward the end of his life. 

After listening to it all the way through, there is some element of melancholy and tragedy that I sense, but what overwhelming sincerity and emotional depth! I hope more get a chance to hear this sympathetic and outstanding performance. My only reservation is that the ending seems to be somewhat weak as it ends on that last chord. But my overall impression is one of being deeply touched and impressed that Schumann was undoubtedly one of the great composers of the Romantic era. If I had any doubts, which I didn’t anyway, his Violin Concerto removed them. It’s rich and full-bodied in sentiment and emotion, one of his last major works. 

I can easily imagine Jochim, Clara, and Brahms being heartbroken after hearing it and believing that its intensity may have been the product of this growing madness and the Concerto needed to be repressed and withheld from the world for more than 80 years. I find the end of the Concerto not melancholy at all; in fact it’s quite cheerful.


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

I also like this music a lot. My first recording was by Gideon Kremer/Muti, coupled with the equally nice Sibelius concerto. Sibelius somehow seems to be the most popular of the two. I now have Kremers version with Harnoncourt, coupled with Argerich in Schumanns piano concerto. Now that I listen to it again, it just occurs how slow Kremer/Harnoncourt play the last part, which is named 'Lebhaft, doch nicht schnell'. I remember live performances that were schneller. I even think I heard Zimmermann play this live, but I am not sure. Somehow this piece is beautiful, but not earth moving, so you easily forget about its existence. Thx for bringing it back:tiphat:


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2019)

Schumann's violin concerto in D minor (WoO 23) has been my favourite violin concerto for very many years now. I have a total of 8 recordings of this work. My latest acquisition is the version by Isabelle Faust (violin), Freiburger Barockorchester, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, and is one I especially like. 

I first heard this work on a live BBC Radio 3 concert broadcast about 15 years ago. I can't recall the artists but it had a striking effect upon me at the time. It didn't sound as though it was written in the mid-19th C, sounding much later than that. It felt that Schumann was making a real (almost final) statement with this work, and I'm sure I will never tire of it.

I love just about everything Schumann wrote across the entire range, but I find something extra special about this violin concerto. To my thinking, it surpasses his excellent piano concerto and cello concerto, and to think that the VC almost got scrapped completely is an appalling prospect.

I'm not surprised that newbies may not be familiar it, or that upon first hearing it they may not like it. I guess it is rather an acquired taste, and I can fully appreciate that it's a work that may not be everybody's cup of tea even after repeated listening. But I am somewhat surprised that some of the more seasoned classical music listeners are evidently not familiar with it at all.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I have it on CD, listened to it plenty of times, but I'm still not hearing a masterpiece in it. Of course, that goes for much of Schumann in my case, the most notable exceptions being the piano concerto and symphony 3. I find the violin concerto good enough to want to keep it in my CD collection, but I can easily think of dozens of violin concertos I prefer.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Like NLAdriaan I also enjoy it when I hear it but find it less than entirely memorable. Still, it is a worthwhile work.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I've tried to acquire a taste for Schumann's Violin Concerto - hasn't happened yet. Being in my 70's, I doubt it ever will happen.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Enthusiast said:


> Like NLAdriaan I also enjoy it when I hear it but find it less than entirely memorable. Still, it is a worthwhile work.


Agreed. Its a work I have, but rarely listen to as I much prefer his symphonies. Maybe I should give it more airtime.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

IMO, the Adagio/Langsam is where the real strength of this work lies. This is not an amateurish, weak or lesser work of Schumann. In fact, this movement competes well with many others from the 19th century. Using the same video as in the OP, but starting with the Langsam:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

DaveM said:


> IMO, the Adagio/Langsam is where the real strength of this work lies. This is not an amateurish, weak or lesser work of Schumann. In fact, this movement competes well with many others from the 19th century.


I agree in thinking the slow movement to be this concerto's crown jewel. It exudes a deep sadness, uninhibited yet gentle, and it's unlike any other piece of music I can think of. The other two movements are good but perhaps not quite at Schumann's best level. Nevertheless I enjoy the Violin Concerto more than the Cello Concerto, which for whatever reason I find a bit dull.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I agree in thinking the slow movement to be this concerto's crown jewel. It exudes a deep sadness, uninhibited yet gentle, and it's unlike any other piece of music I can think of. The other two movements are good but perhaps not quite at Schumann's best level. Nevertheless I enjoy the Violin Concerto more than the Cello Concerto, which for whatever reason I find a bit dull.


The cellist who plays the opening notes looks so sad -as if he's about to cry.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Ever since I first heard the Violin Concerto, I loved it. My understanding is that Joachim and Clara suppressed it because they felt it was not up to the quality of Robert's other works. I'm not sure exactly where where I would place this concerto among other violin concertos or among Schumann's works, but I view it as a major work that clearly deserves to be performed. People here have remarked on the wonderful middle Langsam movement, and I agree that it is exquisite.


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