Some years ago I was asked to chair a question-and-answer session at the Verbier Festival. The subject would be Schumann, and my panellists were to be the eminent baritone Thomas Quasthoff and the equally eminent cellist Steven Isserlis.

I am a Schumann fan. Quasthoff is a devoted enthusiast. But Isserlis adores him. Not only that, this scholar-cellist has spent years learning about his hero, devouring all the information about him that he could. His marvellous recordings of Schumann’s music are one thing. But I clearly remember Thomas’s and my jaws all but dropping open at the depth of Steven’s knowledge on the subject. Ask him a question and he would respond with a tutorial as learned as it was characteristically entertaining. “I can’t believe you have had the time to discover all of this!” an admiring Quasthoff admitted at one point. So, when casting around for a writer to pay tribute to an anniversary-year composer who is still underrated, Steven was the natural and first choice. It was also, as it turned out, an inspired one. He feels strongly that Schumann is not only not given his due but he is also frequently misunderstood.

In his gripping cover story, he pierces some of the myths surrounding Schumann. How far, if at all, was his music affected by his unstablemental condition? What did his fellow great composers really thinkof him? What was the true nature of his relationship with Clara?Isserlis reveals all this and more – and, as a bonus, tenor Mark Padmore weighs in with his fascinating theory about how we should really listen toSchumann’s songs.

We also celebrate Blu-ray this issue in a special focus section. Having fought off the HD-DVD challenge, Blu-ray is now the only hi-def visual format. Labels are quickly taking advantage. Don’t miss our guide to the best players, some great discs and a tantalising new project from Lang Lang! As if this wasn’t enough, the Opus Arte label is offering every reader a free Blu-ray disc. The future is the present.

james.inverne@haymarket.com