Schumann - Fantasy | Isabelle Faust | Andrew Manze | WDR Symphony Orchestra

Schumann - Fantasy | Isabelle Faust | Andrew Manze | WDR Symphony Orchestra
舒曼 - 幻想曲 | 伊莎貝爾福斯特 | 安德魯曼澤 | 西德廣播交響樂團

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Robert Schumann's Fantasy in C major for violin and orchestra performed by violin soloist Isabelle Faust (Artist in Residence 25/26 with the WDR Symphony Orchestra) and the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andrew Manze. Recorded live on November 28, 2025, at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall.

Robert Schumann - Fantasy in C major for violin and orchestra, Op. 131

Isabelle Faust, violin
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Manze, conductor

Introduction to the work:
The Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra is one of Robert Schumann's late
works. It was composed in 1853 in Düsseldorf, during
a phase between creative euphoria and increasing
emotional turmoil.
The impetus came from the young violinist Joseph Joachim, who performed Beethoven's Violin Concerto at the Lower Rhine Music Festival
under Schumann's baton. Joachim
gave Schumann the score and wrote a note expressing his wish that
he might dedicate a new, uplifting work to “the poor violinists.”
Schumann
Schumann did not hesitate and drafted the fantasy in September
of the same year. He sent the draft to Joachim with
the request to check “what might not be practicable in it.”
Schumann accepted all of the 22-year-old violinist's suggestions,
especially regarding the solo cadenza: an example of close artistic
collaboration, as Mendelssohn had also cultivated with the violinist
Ferdinand David.
The character of the work is marked by a peculiar mixture
of lyrical introspection and virtuoso brilliance.
A melancholic introduction in minor opens the fantasy;
a free recitative violin solo rises above the calmly flowing orchestral melody.
But soon the mood changes:
the lively main section in C major brings music of springy
cheerfulness and dance-like agility. Wide melodic leaps,
staccato figures, and trills lend the first theme a sparkling
esprit, while the second theme appears delicate and floating
.
But memories of the introduction repeatedly permeate
the action—like shadows in the midst of light. Contemporary
critics sometimes judged the work to be “gloomy” or
“ungrateful” and drew a connection with Schumann’s
illness – though only after it had become known.
Yet this composition reveals a masterful
balance of poetic intimacy and brilliant virtuosity.
As a result, this long-neglected late work by Schumann
has become increasingly established in the concert repertoire today.

Text: Christian Lehmann

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