Music has been an important part of my life for a very long time. Back in the 1950’s I had my first experience as a member of a symphony orchestra. I learned music that I not heard before, and I learned how to play my instrument as part of a large group.
It was that early experience that resulted in my learning all about the Symphony #2 by Robert Schumann. Now there is a new recording of this amazing work by conductor Antonio Pappano.
Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4
Schumann:
Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61
Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120
Performed by the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano Conducting.
Antonio Pappano, who studied piano and conducting, first attracted the attention of Daniel Barenboim, becoming his assistant at the Bayreuth Festival. After working in Barcelona and Frankfurt, he made his debut at Den Norske Opera in Oslo in 1987, becoming music director there in 1990.
From 1992 to 2002 Pappano was music director of La Monnaie, the Belgian Royal Opera House. In 2002, he was named music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
Here is conductor Daniel Harding introducing and performing the second symphony by Robert Schumann.
