The Schumann Cello Concerto – a misunderstanding of sound? (researcher: Marie-Louise Wundling)

As part of an artistic research of sound within the field of historically informed performance practice of the Romantic era, vocality in Romantic cello playing within Schumann´s music will be examined. In support of a cellistic and performance-practice-based exploration, using R. Schumann´s Cello concerto in a Minor, Op.129., as a case study, this project will - alongside various aspects of 19th-century musical culture - mainly address the vocal ideal of German Romanticism: a fundamental, guiding, and aspired-to principle of expression in this era, which will be studied both in terms of its influence on Romantic cello playing and on Schumann´s instrumental compositions. The aim of the research project is to expand the current understanding of the connection between vocal ideal and instrumental playing in the 19th century music, generate new scientific insights into this sonic language and offer new artistic access to that music.