SCHUMANN, R.: Fantasie Op. 17 / Bunte Blatter Op. 99

Featuring

Dénes Várjon
Robert Schumann

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Composer Biography

A weakness in his fingers prevented Robert Schumann from achieving his ambition of becoming a virtuoso pianist.

Composer Biography

Robert Schumann, the composer, initially pursued literary interests and only later convinced his family to let him focus on music.

Composition History

Franz Liszt, to whom Schumann dedicated his Fantasie, provided the major part of the money for the Beethoven monument in Bonn.

Performer Biography

Denes Varjon, the pianist on this recording, was born in Budapest in 1968 and studied at the Academy of Music there, where he now teaches.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Schumann explained the motto of his Fantasie in C major, Opus 17, to Clara Wieck (his future wife) as a deeply personal expression of his feelings for her.

Composition History

Schumann's Bunte Blatter, Opus 99, is a collection of fourteen piano pieces assembled for publication in 1852, many of which were earlier compositions he had set aside.

Composition History

Schumann's Fantasie in C major, Opus 17, was originally titled "Obolen auf Beethovens Monument" and intended to raise funds for a Beethoven monument in Bonn.