Composed within a fortnight in October 1850, with a modest orchestration of double woodwind, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings, this work wasn’t performed during Schumann’s lifetime, waiting four years after his death to be heard.
It is contemporary with his Symphony 3 in E flat major (the ‘Rhenish’), his three romances, first Violin Sonata, and other works composed in a busy first year as municipal kapellmeister of Düsseldorf in 1847.
A good analysis of the structure of the concerto is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto_(Schumann)#Structure
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