About this edition
Composed during a period of recovery from serious illness in 1845–46, Schumann's Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 stands as one of the most personal and hard-won achievements in the Romantic symphonic canon. Its motto theme — a solemn brass fanfare drawn from the opening bars of Haydn's Symphony No. 104 and Bach's musical world — returns throughout all four movements, binding the work into a unified arc that moves from struggle to luminous affirmation. The radiant slow movement Adagio espressivo, with its arching, Bach-inspired counterpoint, is among the most deeply felt pages Schumann ever wrote.
This score reproduces the symphony as it appeared in Robert Schumanns Werke, Serie I: Symphonien, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig in 1887 (plate R.S. 2) and edited by the composer's widow, Clara Schumann (1819–1896). Prepared with the assistance of figures including Johannes Brahms, the Breitkopf Gesamtausgabe remains a cornerstone reference for Schumann's orchestral works, reflecting Clara's unmatched familiarity with her husband's intentions and offering a clean, carefully engraved text that has shaped performance traditions for well over a century.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral conductor's score (study and reference format)
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a public domain historical edition
- Source: Breitkopf & Härtel Robert Schumanns Werke, Leipzig, 1887, edited by Clara Schumann
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
This edition makes a landmark of the Romantic symphonic literature available in a clean, affordable printed format — a faithful reproduction of a public domain historical score, prepared so that conductors, performers, students, and music lovers can keep this remarkable work close at hand on the desk and on the stand.
