Between 1849 and 1853 Robert and Clara Schumann wrote a series of striking and imaginative works for violin and piano. Clara’s expressive Romanzen explores the violin’s lower and middle range, while Robert’s own set of the same name balances turbulence with melancholy. His concentration at this time on Hausmusik also led to the Fantasiestücke, originally cast for clarinet, and the fairy-tale narratives of Märchenbilder. The passionate complexity of the Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor suggests new musical paths the composer didn’t live to fully explore. © Naxos