marans had previously studied schumann's "dichterliebe" in vienna in 1978. marans said: "i went there to learn singing because i wanted to be a lyricist. as a lyricist, i wanted to know how the singer felt." schumann's song cycle is "infused with a 'young man's anger and passion.'" marans stated, "since i was 21 at the time and dealing with my own 'young man's rage', that's what i responded to."