ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors begin exploration of new forms by looking at six concertos, by Thalberg, Herz, Moscheles and Clara Wieck, which were criticized by Schumann, some severely, some only mildly. The new roles Schumann envisions for solo and orchestra may draw on his greater exposure to concertos by Beethoven and on his engagement with the latest works of Mendelssohn and Moscheles, both of whom he repeatedly claims were influenced by Mozart and Beethoven. All the movements of the Concerto have other unusual features but none that place this work outside the bounds of the virtuoso genre. For all the extensions and manipulations, the form of all three movements remains remarkably clear to the listener, just as three writers who witnessed Herz's performance of the Concerto in New York attested. Tonally, there is considerable play of dark and light across the movements.
