Two things in particular link Aribert Reimann with Robert Schumann, whom he much admires: their interest in the dark side of human existence and their great commitment to literature. The both took an interest in the poems by the Scottish queen Mary Stuart written at the end of her life during her imprisonment. For a long time, Reimann had cherished the wish to orchestrate the lieder by Schumann based on these poems, "but I always lacked in courage to break up the rather barren piano part which i...