“Really not the way to proper way to play Schumann”
It is strange for me the way that playing Schumann can draw all sorts of extraordinary reactions from audience and fellow musicians alike. He is a personal hero of mine and I find his music enigmatic and inspirational. In pieces like the string quartets, there is this wonderful structure but also great emotional freedom to interpret his music . His intensely personal way of using expression marks, like > ,sfz , fp , – his sudden changes of feeling and far out metrome marks, can lead to a wide variety of interpretations which I appreciate. Great music can survive this, and usually we can all be stimulated ,even by interpretations by which we are at first provoked. It usually does not come anywhere near the extremes of expression that Schumann himself seemed to specify.
That is why I am always sad when I hear somebody say something as narrow minded as “Really not the proper way to play Schumann” As if one existed! They also happened to be talking about one of my favourite recordings of some Schumann pieces. Thank goodness a composer like Schumann is immune to pedants everywhere. The Ikea instruction manual approach to music making, is thankfully defeated by him. The metronome marks alone usually put paid to this way of approaching his music. Some of the metronome marks seem beyond human reach, which is a good thing. You know you have never arrived and will have to keep coming back. You will never find “THE way” and you will be a better musician for never having arrived.