Great Performances on Friday night on PBS has enriched my life. Last evening, Scott You had a show on Robert Schumann, with the theme of creativity and craziness. Robert Schumann wrote wonderful music which we know and love today but during his lifetime, he was not appreciated. Fortunately he had a loving wife who was also a musician. They do not say with absolute security but he was probably bi polar, for which there was no cure. He would go through bouts of manic work and write piece after piece. Then he would go into the depth of despair.
During the program I heard lots of Schumanns music, played by different quartets, including Scott You on the violin and also conducting the Scottish Symphony. The poet Robert Burns also had bouts of depression. A theme drumming through the program was the connection between creativity and mental illness. There were many examples. I knew very little of the life of Robert Schumann although I know his music and have listened all my life. But this program filled in the gaps for me. I enjoyed this program on Great Performances.
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