May 4, 2018
Although storm clouds were starting to gather over Robert Schumann’s mental health in the years 1849–50, it proved a remarkably fertile period for his musical output, not least as reflected in works featuring the cello. The majority of the pieces on this new release were composed during that period, some with the instrumentation as originally conceived, others in arrangements by the soloist and Naxos artist Gabriel Schwabe, who comments: “Each piece develops its own unmistakable character, giving us a fascinating insight into the incredibly prolific and imaginative phase towards the end of Schumann’s life.” Raymond Bisha takes us through the programme that opens with the most substantial work, the Cello Concerto in A minor.