Cello Concerto in A minor, op. 129

Schumann wrote the Cello Concerto between 10 and 24 October 1850, in his first weeks as municipal music director in Düsseldorf, and headed the autograph Konzertstück rather than Konzert — a signal that he meant to leave the three-movement convention behind. The movements run without a break, and the cadenza is accompanied by the orchestra instead of standing alone. He described it to Breitkopf & Härtel as a cheerful piece. He never heard it: the first performance took place in Leipzig on 23 April 1860, four years after his death, with Ludwig Ebert as soloist.