Schumann, Overture to "Manfred", op. 115 [Breit:PB5546]

Spiritual Affinities

Schumann had already worked on Byron’s Manfred as a law student, and the topic fascinated him from that time on. Perhaps he discovered a spiritual affinity to himself in the romantic hero’s inner conflict? In any event, he decided on a stage rendition of the drama with incidental music, an entirely new genre that he had been dreaming of for some time already. He conducted the overture – it dates from 1848 – for the first time as a separate piece in March 1852. In addition, he followed the preparations for the first edition of the complete performance material very closely, which was published by Breitkopf in Leipzig that same year. The “Breitkopf Urtext” edition of the Manfred Overture is based on this first print of the score and parts revised by Schumann. At the same time, this edition also marks a new chapter in the expansion of the collection of Schumann overtures that have already been published by Breitkopf (to Hermann und Dorothea op. 136, Szenen aus Goethes “Faust” WoO 3 and Genoveva op. 81).