Immediately after completing his First Symphony, Schumann wrote this work as a birthday present for his wife Clara. Although it only met with a lukewarm reception when it was first performed in Leipzig in 1841, Schumann was convinced of its merit. However, he abandoned any notion of having it performed again, or of publishing it. The Symphony in D minor thus disappeared into a drawer for the next ten years. Schumann revised the work in December 1851, paying special attention to the instrumentation. The symphony was then published as No. 4, which explains its misleadingly high opus number 120. Today, it is Schumann's most frequently performed symphony. In the early 1960s, Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) became fascinated by the movie director Henri-Georges Clouzot, who had directed "Quai des orfèvres" and "Mystère Picasso." He suggested that Clouzot work with him on a "visual interpretation" of musical masterworks. Their fruitful collaboration included Schumann's Fourth Symphony (1965), Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 (1966), Mozart's Fifth Concerto (1966), Dvorak's Ninth Symphony (1966) and Verdi's Requiem (1967). The chemistry between the two men was unparalleled: the score becomes a script, the musical phrases are translated into cuts where the musicians are treated as "actors" of music. The director creates an extraordinarily captivating climate, reproducing in images all the nuances and strength of the work. Tracked by Clouzot's camera, Karajan's concentration is equally fascinating. Never had a conductor been filmed with as much strength and passion.

Composer Robert Schumann Title Schumann, Symphony No.4 in D minor, op.120 Conductor Herbert von Karajan Orchestra Wiener Symphoniker Video Director Henri-Georges Clouzot Genre Concert Length 26 minutes Cat.No. A05500432

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The DVD is also released by Kinokuniya in Japan.