Symphony No. 1 (Schumann) Symphony No. 1 (Schumann) The Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 38, also known as the Spring Symphony, is the first symphonic work composed by Robert Schumann. Although he had made some "symphonic attempts" in the autumn of 1840 soon after he married Clara Wieck, he did not compose his first symphony until early 1841. Until then, Schumann was largely known for his works for the piano and for voice. Clara encouraged him to write symphonic music, noting in her diary, "it would be best if he composed for orchestra; his imagination cannot find sufficient scope on the piano...
Hans-Georg Wieck Hans-Georg Wieck Hans-Georg Wieck (born March 28, 1928 in Hamburg) is a former German diplomat and was president of the German federal intelligence service Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). Wieck studied history and philosophy in Hamburg from 1947 to 1952 and received his PhD in 1953 with a dissertation named "The Origin of the Christian Democratic Union and the re-establishment of the Centre Party from 1945 to 1947." From 1954 to 1993 he was an official at the Foreign Office for which he served as ambassador to Iran, the USSR and India. He was also permanent representative of the Federal Republic of Germany