Schumann is unique in music history as being one of the greatest composers who concentrated on one musical genre at a time, with the bulk of his earliest compositions being for the piano. Schumann’s music for piano (and later his songs) contains supreme examples of the Romantic style of the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Immensely influenced by literature and poetry, it is the unique combination of the heroic and reflective in his music that most affects the listener. A master of the more intimate forms of musical composition, much of his work for the instrument is in the form of suites comprising short, poetic pieces, each expressing a different mood. Schumann also composed three large-scale sonatas for the piano, and it is the first and third sonatas that make up this recording. These powerful works may have been over-shadowed in popularity by Schumann’s more immediately accessible piano works, yet they contain music every bit as attractive and with an extraordinarily wide emotional range. In addition, the demands that they make upon the player are great but highly rewarding.