SKU: HL.49015565

ISBN 9781423421047. 9.0x12.0x0.079 inches.

'I have always had a great fondness for the works by Schumann', Aribert Reimann once said. There exists a close relationship even beyond the music: As owner of Schumann's medical records from the mental asylum in Endenich, Reimann guarded the secret of the circumstances surrounding Schumann's last weeks and death.When the musical world celebrated Reimann's 70th birthday and commemorated the 150th anniversary of Schumann's death in 2006, Reimann decided to publish the records and comment on them in his book 'Robert Schumann in Endenich' (ED 9870).This book was presented to the public on 5 May 2006 at the Schumann Festival in Dusseldorf. For this occasion, as a musical bow to Schumann, Reimann composed the string quartet Adagio which the Heine Quartet premiered. Adagio is based on both Schumann's Endenich chorales 'Wenn mein Stundlein vorhanden ist' and 'Stark und Mittler, dein sind wir'.

SKU: HL.49007921

ISBN 9790001111911. 9.0x12.0x0.238 inches.

In these lieder, Robert Schumann seems to mirror his life full of crises. The composition coincides with the first signs of his illness. The picture of the drowning Ophelia evoked in the first chant conjures up the image of his suicide attempt three years later. Aribert Reimann's transcription seems to be opposed to Schumann's endeavours to make stronger use of 'the development of the accompanying instrument, the piano'. On the other hand, the complete integration of the vocal part in the musical setting of the string quartet confirms Schumann's assessment that the singing voice alone cannot 'express everything; apart from the expression of the whole, even subtle nuances of the poem shall become apparent'. These transcriptions show Reimann's sense of timbre and his many years of experience as a lied accompanist.