Schumann

390 Pages·2012·2.21 MB·English

by  Jensen, Eric Frederick, Schumann, Robert

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T H E M A S T E R M U S I C I A N S
S C H U M A N N

SERIES EDITED BY R. LARRY TODD
FORMER SERIES EDITOR, THE LATE STANLEY SADIE
THE MASTER MUSICIANS
Titles Available in Paperback
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Beethoven • Barry Cooper Mozart • Julian Rushton
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Titles Available in Hardcover
Rossini • Richard Osborne Tchaikovsky • Roland John Wiley
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T H E M A S T E R M U S I C I A N S
SCHUMANN

å
E RIC FREDERICK J ENSEN
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
978-0-19-973735-2
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
this book is dedicated to the memory
of my brother, grover.
The songs I had are withered
Or vanished clean,
Yet there are bright tracks
Where I have been,
And there grow fl owers
For others’ delight.
Think well, O singer,
Soon comes night.
Ivor Gurney
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Preface to the First Edition
S
CHUMANN’S CONTEMPORARIES WOULD BE ASTONISHED BY THE AMOUNT
of interest in him today. To some, he was the composer of bizarre and
often peculiar works for piano. To others, he was the composer of chamber
music and symphonies too conventional and traditional in basis. To most,
he was better known as a music critic than as a composer. Few would
have considered him among the most signifi cant composers of his day,
preferring instead Mendelssohn or Spohr, Meyerbeer or Wagner.
Yet, Schumann is increasingly regarded not just as a composer of
stature but as one of the leading fi gures of German Romanticism. The
past decades have witnessed a phenomenal growth of interest in him and
his music. A new scholarly edition of his compositions is in progress. A
revised thematic catalogue of his work and complete editions of his
correspondence and music criticism are being planned. A great number
of scholarly articles and monographs have appeared, as well as recordings
of virtually all of his music.
But Schumann’s move to prominence has been a slow process. In 1854,
he had a nervous breakdown (one of three over a twenty-year period),
and at his own request was placed in a mental institution to recover. He
died there two years later. Mental illness in the Victorian era was regarded
with fear, suspicion, and abhorrence. Schumann was suddenly seen as a
pathetic fi gure whose mental instability had marred much of his work.
This attitude was one that lingered forcefully for much of the twentieth
century. It was complemented by a maudlin view especially popular in
the English-speaking world: Schumann the Romantic tone-poet, the
sentimental creator of “Träumerei.”
Confl icting perceptions of Schumann emerged during the fi rst half of
the twentieth century, primarily a result of social and political turmoil in
Germany. When Schumann’s private papers and journals (he maintained
a copious series of diaries) became available for examination, they fell
into the hands of Nazi scholars. Their studies, fi lled with fabrications and
viii • Preface to the First Edition
lies, presented Schumann as a model Aryan and devout anti-Semite.
During World War II, many of Schumann’s personal documents were lost
or displaced. A substantial portion of those that survived were in East
Germany, and Marxist scholars then put them to use. Schumann became
a courageous champion of “The People.”
A more truthful view of Schumann only began to emerge in 1971,
when the fi rst of his diaries was published. The remaining diaries appeared
sixteen years later; Schumann’s household books (diaries of a sort) were
published in 1982. A scholarly edition—still in progress—of Schumann’s
correspondence with his future wife, Clara Wieck, was begun in 1984. At
last, nearly a century and a half after his death, it became possible to view
him in his own words, and the picture that resulted differed substantially
from those that previously had been available.
Rather than dreaming his life away at the piano, Schumann was an
indefatigable worker driven by ambition. His compositions confi rm it—
well over 150 works, many of substantial length, during approximately
twenty years. But more signifi cant than their number is their variety.
Throughout his career, Schumann challenged himself to explore new
genres. He could easily have specialized in piano compositions or songs,
as did many of his contemporaries. Instead, he made a point of attempt-
ing something new, whether in traditional forms such as opera or
symphony, or in genres of his own creation, such as the choral ballads of
his last years. In each case, Schumann’s efforts were not the result of
commissions—he often had no idea if his compositions would be per-
formed—but were self-imposed.
Schumann seemed content only when he set new standards for him-
self. But, as the diaries and household books reveal, he was also concerned
with the business of music. The music journal he founded and edited, the
Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , was profi table and steadily increased in sales. Its
success was almost entirely the result of Schumann’s own efforts. In his
compositions, Schumann reckoned on similar fi nancial success. His move
from piano compositions to songs, for example, was intended in part
because of his hope to earn more money as a song writer.
What makes Schumann’s accomplishments even more remarkable are
the circumstances surrounding them. His success as a music critic was a
mixed blessing. While he found much gratifi cation as a writer (and
helped to create a market for the new music of his day, often in the face
Preface to the First Edition • ix
of substantial opposition), he would have preferred to spend more of his
time composing. Often work on compositions had to wait while a dead-
line was met for his criticism. Financial concerns were always present,
and he earned more as a music critic than as a composer.
In addition, Schumann suffered from depression, so severe that at times
work of any sort was impossible. But he was not the “madman” the
nineteenth century created. By modern standards, it seems likely that his
mental illness could have been managed, if not cured. The treatment he
received only exacerbated his condition, making his fi nal years an ordeal,
and his confi nement in a mental institution a nightmare come true.
Schumann’s diaries and correspondence are often deeply personal, and
bring him to life as no other source can. They reveal an exceptional human
spirit, notable for its integrity and idealism, and steadfast in its devotion
and dedication to music. Readily apparent are his great sensitivity and love
for beauty, whether in nature (for which Schumann had a great apprecia-
tion) or in works of art. His friendships are consistently noted, and empha-
size his ability to focus on what is best in human nature. Family life plays
a large role as well. Surprising are the frequent references to his children,
not, as might be expected, in the guise of a doting father but as a lover of
childhood and a keen admirer of an idealized innocence.
In writing this study of Schumann, it seemed essential to use his
diaries, household books, and letters as the primary source—not merely
to create a more accurate representation of him, but to allow him to
speak for himself. The diaries and household books are readily available
in scholarly editions. But Schumann’s correspondence—he was a prolifi c
letterwriter—is scattered in more than a dozen books and periodicals
published over the past century. None of these make any pretence of
being complete, and the texts have frequently been heavily edited—in
some cases, even altered and deliberately distorted. I have consulted all of
them, but have used four most frequently: F. Gustav Jansen’s Briefe: Neue
Folge (Leipzig, 1904), Hermann Erler’s R obert Schumann’s Leben: Aus seinen
Briefen geschildert (Berlin, 1887), Siegfried Kross’s Briefe und Notizen Robert
und Clara Schumanns , 2nd ed. (Bonn, 1982), and the correspondence of
Schumann and his wife, B riefwechsel: Kritische Gesamtausgabe (Frankfurt
am Main, 1984–).
For the letters of Schumann’s youth, two often complementary edi-
tions are available: the Jugendbriefe , fi rst edited by Clara Schumann in