Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Pletnev / Nagano

He was passionate and determined in everything he did, composing and writing articles, thinking and acting. If a risk presented itself, Robert Schumann took it. He was unique in his creative egocentricity, looking up to others and suffering from his own personality: he poured his lifeblood into even the smallest project. A perfectionist by nature, Schumann was an incessant student, and aimed to create something new with every work he composed. The Konzertstück for Four Horns shows this clearly, as does his famous Piano Concerto in A minor, both of which feature on the programme of the ninth Philharmonic Concert. Schumann’s aspiration to be innovative takes on particular urgency in his symphonies: in the Third Symphony, he finally manages to break free of established tradition.