The Interpretation of Robert Schumann: between Inspiration and Rationality

Marco Mantovani
Promotors: Matthias Heyman, Jan Michiels

This doctoral research by Marco Mantovani focuses on six piano pieces by Robert Schumann composed between 1836 and 1838 (i.e., Fantasie op. 17, Fantasiestucke op. 12, Davidsbundlertanze op. 6, Novelletten op. 21, Kinderszenen op. 15, Kreisleriana op. 16), a period that was arguably one of the turning points in his personal and artistic life. Many of Schumann’s most important piano works and some of the most illuminating examples of his extraordinary compositional process and his formal and structural in novations date from this period. These innovations and the originality of Schumann’s poetics are often insufficiently understood in the contemporary interpretation of his works, especially the balance between freedom and constraints in terms of time and structure.
This research aims to approach these works from perspective of the performing artist. In doing so, the theoretical aspects will be considered, e.g., through a formal analysis of the works and the study of how they were inspired by the style and psychology of writers such as E.T.A. Hoffmann and Jean Paul, but the researcher will also seek to fathom the composer’s deepest thoughts from the artistic practice, which will culminate in the performance and recordings of these works. The ultimate goal of this research is to combine Schumann’s extreme variety of moods and visions with a deeply logical and coherent flow, to get as close as possible to the true and authentic source of his inspiration.