More thoughts about Schumann

I found this article by Jessica Duchen the other day.

Because I've been working on a few of Schumann's organ pieces in preparation for recitals later in the year, there's been a few thoughts percolating about how these pieces relate to where he'd arrived as a composer in 1845.  This will be the subject of a couple of more extended essays on here in the coming weeks, and ultimately a submission to Organ Australia (so if you're a subscriber, you will have seen it here first).  Because there's so little in the way of sustained writing on Schumann's organ music (well, pedal piano music, but what's a small change of medium between friends?!), I'm hoping to make the blog version of this essay a bit of a multimedia exercise.

My view of Schumann's move towards composing with more recondite techniques is that it comprises a watershed in his musical diction.  He did slow things down, think a bit more deeply and plan his strategies out before committing to paper.  The point that Duchen raises is that this led to innovation in Schumann's music, and that it influenced the way Clara Schumann proceeded as the self-appointed gatekeeper of her husband's legacy.  That the violin concerto disappeared from sight for 80 years speaks volumes on this point.

There is quite a bit of literature to fight through before I make any extended comments, so stay tuned.