When Robert Schumann first read Lord Byron’s poem Manfred, it had a chilling effect on him. He wrote “Agitated state of mind – read Byron’s Manfred in bed – terrible night".
Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Giordano Bellincampi.
Manfred - John Martin, 1837 Photo: Public Domain
Almost twenty years after Schumann's "terrible night", he wrote incidental music for the poem – 15 numbers plus an overture.
It came to him quickly and he confessed to a friend “Never have I devoted myself to a composition with such love and energy as to Manfred.”
Liszt presented the premiere of Manfred in 1852, and Schumann insisted that it was not to be advertised as an opera, Singspiel or melodrama, but as a ‘dramatic poem with music.’ That would be completely new and unprecedented.
The complete Manfred is not often heard these days. It’s just the Overture that seems to have stayed in the repertoire.
Programme note by Carey McDonald
Recorded by RNZ in Auckland Town Hall, 25 July 2019
Producer: Tim Dodd
Engineer: Rangi Powick
