Music or literature? As a young man, Robert Schumann could not make up his mind; in the end, he chose the art of music. After a career as a pianist foundered due to injury, he concentrated entirely on composing – and very successfully! While works such as his famous piano concerto show Schumann as a master of the keyboard, pieces such as the Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra and the Nachtlied particularly reflect the sensitive poet in him. Here we present the composer in all his facets.
