As did many piano virtuosi at the time, Robert Schumann also dreamt of presenting himself to the public simultaneously as a pianist and composer with his own piano concerto. He had made several first attempts at an early age. In the years that followed he felt himself increasingly drawn towards the idea of a freer formal conception.

The sketch of a single-movement 'Phantasie' finally became the opening movement of the famous work, that is now being published for the first time in a practical ...