The proceedings of the conference ‘Incontri con Schumann’ have been released.

The proceedings of the conference ‘Incontri con Schumann. Percorsi pianistici e critici alla Rocca di Imola’, held from 24 to 27 November 2022 in Imola, as a part of the festival organised by the Fondazione Accademia Internazionale di Imola, are now available, published by Libreria Musicale Italiana and edited by Maurizio Giani.

 

The conference, organised under the patronage of the Robert Schumann-Haus in Zwickau, the German Historical Institute in Rome, the Department of the Arts of the University of Bologna and the Italian Society of Musicology, was dedicated to the memory of one of Schumann’s greatest scholars, Antonio Rostagno.

 

‘The Academy community,’ writes Giani, “responded with interest and participation to the multifaceted initiative that sealed the conclusion of the first triennium since the introduction of the Academy equivalent Degree courses, recalling the initiator thought of the Academy itself: pursuing excellence and supporting the talent of young musicians by nurturing their critical spirit, in the virtuous circularity of instrumental practice and scientific research”.

 

The project saw the recording of Robert Schumann’s entire piano works by the Academy students. On the occasion of the CD presentation, masterclasses were held by maestros Benedetto Lupo and Avedis Kouyoumdjian, as well as the roundtable “L’Accademia di Imola dal pianoforte storico alla prassi esecutiva” with Franco Scala, Stefano Fiuzzi and Piero Rattalino, him participating remotely. In addition, the presentation of Anna Quaranta‘s monograph ‘Schumann’s Fantasy op. 17.  Sonate o fantasie, che importa il nome!’ (Lim, Lucca, 2022) and the performance of the Schumann Fantasy by Gala Chistiakova.

 

Seven essays are included in the publication:

  • “«What were you thinking when you composed it? Aspects of Musical Communication between Clara Wieck Schumann and Robert Schumann” by Janina Klassen
  • “Composing for Jenny Lind. New Documents relating to Schumann’s Song Compositions of Early 1850” by Thomas Synofzik
  • “Schumann M.M. Temporal relations as a tool for cyclic formal construction in Robert Schumann’s Lenau-Lieder op. 90” by Kilian Sprau
  • “Schumann e un altro Wagner. Vicende di una citazione” by Maurizio Giani
  • “Schumann, Schubert e il romanzesco nella sinfonia” by Cesare Fertonani
  • “«Innere Stimmen». Slittamenti e rifrazioni della polifonia nella musica di Schumann” by Maria Teresa Arfini
  • “«Nissuna penna mai basta, per dipingere parte il soavissimo, parte lo spiacevole del viaggiar in Italia». Ovvero del rapporto tra Schumann e l’Italia” by Nicoletta Lagna