Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 (Orig. Version) (Edition for Cello and Piano) Cover Image

Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 (Orig. Version) (Edition for Cello and Piano): Cello & Piano

$22.95 USD

Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 (Orig. Version) (Edition for Cello and Piano): Cello & Piano

Name: Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 (Orig. Version) (Edition for Cello and Piano): Cello & Piano
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 98-EP73488
Price: 22.95 USD
Availability: InStock

Concertstück

By Robert Schumann / ed. Josephine Knight

Item: 98-EP73488

$22.95

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Schumann's Cello Concerto Rediscovered

In her first Urtext edition for Edition Peters, internationally renowned cellist Josephine Knight reveals Robert Schumann's original version of his Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129 - a piece he actually called a 'Concertstück' - removing generations of inauthentic editorial interventions. This is the only available modern scholarly edition of the work as Schumann originally conceived it, and restores the text from October 1850, based on the composer's manuscript held in the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Kraków. It is presented in a beautifully printed edition for cello with Schumann's original piano reduction. Matching orchestral material is also available from the publisher.

Only modern Urtext edition based on Schumann's original 1850 manuscript
Many new corrections and clarifications, especially to the cello part
Scholarly preface detailing history of the work and this edition by editor Josephine Knight, Piatti Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music London
Cello Part contains Josephine Knight's fingering and bowing suggestions
Critical Commentary
Matching orchestral material available separately from Edition Peters
Recording of the Concertstück featuring Josephine Knight available from Dutton

Robert Schumann's tragic last years have mired many of his greatest works in unnecessary doubt. The story of the suppression of his Violin Concerto by well-meaning friends is relatively well-known. Few, however, know that the version of the Cello Concerto that is routinely heard today is so far from Schumann's original conception of the work - not only in details of phrasing and articulation, but also featuring a different ending with a bold final flourish from the cello. Composed in a burst of inspiration in two weeks in October 1850 shortly after he and Clara had moved to Düsseldorf, Schumann (who in 1850 was still in good health) never heard the piece performed. In an effort to promote a performance of the work, he gave the score to the cellist Robert Emil Bockmühl. Bockmühl made revisions that Schumann resisted, and the hoped-for performance never happened. Schumann's health failed and he died aged just 46 in 1856. The Concerto, in an already substantially revised form, was premiered in 1860 but it was not given significant recognition until it was championed by Pablo Casals in the 20th century by which time (and since) the text for the work had accreted additions and alterations from generations of soloists.

Now Josephine Knight, Piatti Professor of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music, London has returned to the original 1850 manuscript of the work, which is in the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Kraków, to reveal Schumann's original thoughts for the first time in a modern Urtext edition. The edition reflects Schumann's original conception of the work as a Concertstück and restores Schumann's musical text, free of posthumous interventions. It is presented in a beautifully printed edition for cello, with Schumann's original piano reduction. Matching orchestral material is also available from the publisher.

'My ultimate wish,' says the editor, 'is to give performers both access to, and confidence that they are playing from, an edition which is a true representation of the piece in its original form, no matter how much more difficult this might be. I found that incorporating the changes enabled the piece to take on a completely different character - one that is lighter and happier, even "cheerful", as Schumann himself described the work.'

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Series: Edition Peters

Publisher: Edition Peters

ISBN10: 0-57-702037-4

ISBN13: 979-0-5770-2037-2

SKU: 98-EP73488

More about this title

About the Composer: Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann (1810, 1856) was a titan of nineteenth-century musical life, equally gifted as a composer, critic, and pianist. His late works, written during periods of both creative brilliance and personal struggle, contain some of the most introspective and harmonically adventurous music of the Romantic era. Schumann's chamber and concertante works remain cornerstones of the repertoire, yet many survive in versions altered by posthumous editors who believed they knew better than the composer himself.

For cellists and pianists, Schumann represents a particular gift: a composer who understood the instrument's lyrical depths while writing with real structural sophistication. His late chamber music demands mature musicianship and rewards it with genuine artistic substance. This edition restores his original intentions, allowing performers to encounter Schumann as he actually wrote.

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Why we love this

Josephine Knight's Urtext edition cuts through 170 years of editorial accumulation to reveal what Schumann actually wrote in 1850. Working from the original manuscript, Knight restores dozens of small but meaningful details in the cello part, articulations, bowings, even note readings, that transform how the piece sits under the hand. This matters. A cellist playing from an authentic text experiences the work differently, with greater clarity about what's compositional intention and what's editorial guess.

What to expect

The work unfolds as intimate confession rather than virtuosic display, despite its technical demands. Schumann's harmonic language here is searching and sometimes austere, with moments of profound lyricism emerging from dark, ambiguous harmonies. The dialogue between cello and piano feels like two intelligent voices in genuine conversation, neither subordinate to the other.

Who it's for

Advanced cellists preparing this work for solo recital or competition will appreciate having the only modern edition based on Schumann's actual manuscript. Pianists seeking intelligent accompaniment writing, not transcription padding, will find Schumann's original reduction far more rewarding than diluted orchestral arrangements. Serious music students who care about textual authenticity belong with this edition.

How to get the most out of it

Consult Knight's fingering suggestions early in your preparation, but test each one. Her choices reflect both historical cello technique and the manuscript's physical demands; some may suit your hand better than others.
The piano reduction preserves Schumann's orchestral textures with remarkable fidelity. Honor the inner voices and doublings; they're not padding but essential to the harmonic architecture.
Pay attention to the Critical Commentary. Knight's notes on textual variants clarify moments where earlier editions diverged from the autograph, helping you understand why a phrase might feel different than you remember.
Resist the urge to add vibrato or expressive excess. Schumann's original articulation markings are sparse and precise; they suggest a more classical restraint than later Romantic performance practice assumed.

How to use it

This belongs on a cello recital where you want to showcase both technical mastery and musical maturity. Pair it with a Baroque suite and a contemporary work to create a program that spans centuries. For students preparing for Young Artist competitions or conservatory entrance auditions, this edition provides the scholarly authority and performative depth that adjudicators respect.