I'm a young violinist in the process of learning Schumann's much-maligned
Violin Concerto. It has undergone something of a revival in recent years,
with some excellent recordings by Kremer, Bell, etc.

Most 20th-century prejudice against the concerto seems to stem from a
wider-ranging misunderstanding of Schumann's late style - the idea that
he somehow ran out of the spontaneous inspiration to be found in abundance
in the early piano works.  A similar attitude used to be held against the
later symphonies (2 and 3) and chamber music.  To my ears, his later style
is not inferior, simply different - more intellectual, motivic, densely
contrapuntal - almost anticipating Brahms.  As Yehudi Menuhin remarked, the
Violin Concerto forms the 'missing link' between the Beethoven and Brahms
concertos.

I would be interested in hearing some opinions from other list members
about this (IMHO) wonderful piece - especially about its status as possibly
the most critically savaged orchestral work by a major 19th-century
composer.

Brian Blackwell
Bruckner CD reviews and more at: http://www.onthenet.com.au/~briblack