Schumann: Piano Trio No. 2 in F Major, Op. 80 & Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 47

Featuring

Donald Sulzen
Michael Arlt
Gerhard Zank
Tilo Widenmeyer
Münchner Klaviertrio
Robert Schumann

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Compositional Technique

In the third movement of his Piano Quartet, Op. 47, Schumann quotes a melody from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera, Le nozze di Figaro, a common and accepted practice at the time.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Robert Schumann believed the artist's job was to "send light to the depths of the human heart."

Composer Biography

Robert Schumann turned to composition only after an apparatus used to improve his manual dexterity crippled his hands, forcing him to abandon his dream of becoming a professional pianist.

Composition History

Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet, Op. 47, was completed in just five weeks during 1842, which he called his "chamber music year."

Performer Biography

The Münchner Klaviertrio (Munich Piano Trio), founded in 1982, is one of Germany's most active chamber music ensembles, performing worldwide and releasing over 30 CDs.

Composition History

Schumann dedicated his Piano Quartet, Op. 47, to Count Mathieu Wielhorsky, a talented amateur cellist, but also composed it for his wife, Clara Schumann.

Recording & Production

This recording features a violin made by Nicolo Amati in Cremona, Italy, in 1662, and a violoncello by Carlo Antonio Testore from Milan, Italy, in 1747.