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Schumann Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians Volume 4
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SCHUMANN 343
By this means, with a comparatively low pres-
sure of wind an extraordinarily rich quantity
of tone is produced. The Sohulzes carried the
same principles into their wooden ilute pipes.
Their organs are also celebrated for their string-
toned stops, but the drawback in all of these
is a certain slowness in their speech. Besides
the organs at Doncaster and Northampton,the Schulzes have instruments in England at
churches at Armley ; Leeds (in conjunction
with Hill) ; Hindley, Wigan ; Tyne Dock, SouthShields ; Harrogate ; also at Northampton TownHall ; Charter-house School, Godalming ; Seaton
Carew (Thos. Walker, Esq.). w. B. vS.
SCHUMANN, Claka. Josephine, wife of
Robert Schumann, one of the greatest pianoforte
players that the world has ever heard, was the
daughter of Fribdkich Wieok, and was born at
Leipzig, Sept 13, 1819. She began the PF. at
a very early age under her father's guidance;
and on Oct. 20, 1828, when she had just com-pleted her ninth year, made her ddbut iq public
at a concert of Frl. Perthaler's, where she played
with Emilie Eeinhold in Kalkbrenner's 4-hand
variations on the March from 'Moise.' Thenotices in the Leipzig Tageblatt and A.M.Z.show that she was already an object of muchinterest in the town. At this time she wasaccustomed to play the concertos of Mozart andHummel with orchestra by heart, and thus early
did she lay the foundation of that sympathywith the orchestra which so distinguished her.
On Nov. 8, 1830, when just over eleven,
she gave her first concert at the GewandhsCiis
under the good old name of 'Musikalia^e
Akademie ' ; and her performance igse^WlfJ"by
the A.M.Z. as a proof how far applte'tltJl^ «bdgood teaching can bring great natursdi^fte<it
so early an age. Her .solo pieces w«fe;lfe)Mtt
brillant (op. 101), Kalkbrenner ; iVagia'tiiaiS
brillantes (op. 23), Herz ; and variations -of
her own on an original theme ; and she is
praised by the critic just referred to for already
possessing the brUliant style of the greatest
players of the day. Her next appearance was
on May 9, 1831, in pieces by Pixis and Herz
—still bravura music. In the same year a set
of four polonaises by her was published byHofmeister. About this time she was taken
to Weimar, Cassel, and Frankfort, and in the
spring of 1832 to Paris, where she gave a
concert on April 9 art which she extemporised
for the first time in public. Mendelssohn was
there at the time, but was suffering from an
attack of cholera, and thus the meeting of
these two great artists—destined to become
such great friends— was postponed. On July 9,
and July 31, 1832, she gives two other 'Musika-
lische Akademien ' in Leipzig, at which, besides
Pixis and Herz, we find Chopin's variations
on ' La ci darem ' (op. 2), a piece which, only
a few months before, Eobert Schumann had
welcomed with his first and one of, his most
spirited reviews. At the former of these twoconcerts Frl. Livia Gerhardt (Mme. Frege) sangin public for the first time.
On Sept. 30, 1832, Clara Wieck seems to havemade her d^but at the Gewandhaus Concerts
in Moscheles's G minor Concerto, and fromthat time forward her name is regularly foundin the programmes of those famous Subscription
Concerts, as well as of others held in the samehall. Hitherto, it will be observed, her musichas been almost exclusively bravura ; but onNov. 9, 1835, she played with Mendelssohnand Eakemann in Bach's triple Concerto in Dminor, and about the same time Moschelesmentions her performance of one of Schubert's
Trios, and Beethoven's Trio in Bb. On Dec.
15 she played Beethoven's Choral Fantasia.
In the winter of 1837 she made her first visit
to Vienna, and remained during the winter
playing with great success, and receiving the
appointment of ' Kk. Kammer-virtuosin.
'
Schumann had been on a very intimate foot-
ing in the Wiecks' house for some years, but it
was not till the end of 1835 that his attach-
ment to Clara was openly avowed, and it wasnot till Sept. 12, 1840 (the eve of her birthday),
after a series of delays and difliculties whichare suflioiently touched upon in the article onRobert Schumann, that they were married.
For eighteen months after this event Mme.Schumann remained in Leipzig. We find her
name in the Gewandhaus programmes attached
to the great masterpieces, but occasionally play-
ing moremodem music, as on Dec. 6, 1841, whenshe twice played with Liszt in a piece of his for
two pianos. In the early part of 1842 she andher husband made a tour to Hamburg, whichshe continued alone as far as Copenhagen.Early in 1844 they went together to St. Peters-
burg, and at the end of the year Schumann'shealth made it necessary to leave Leipzig, andremove to Dresden, where they resided till
1850. During aU this time Mme. Schumann'slife was bound up with her husband's, andthey were separated only by the exigencies of
her profession. She devoted herself not only
to his society, but to the bringing out of his
music, much of which—such as the PF. Con-certo, the Quintet, Quartet, and Trios, etc.
—
owed its first reputation to her. In 1846 she
met Jenny Lind for the first time at Leipzig,
and in the winter of the same year they metagain at Vienna, when the two great artists
appeared together at a concert in December.England, though at one time in view, wasreserved to a later day. At Paris she neverplayed after the early visit already spoken of.
The trials which this faithful wife must haveundergone during the latter part ofher husband'slife, from his first attempt at self-destruction
to his death, July 19, 1856, need only be
alluded to here. It was but shortly before
the fatal crisis that she made her first visit to
344 SCHUMANN
England, playing at the Philharmonic on April14 and 28, at the Musical Union on fourseparate occasions, and elsewhere, herlastappear-ance being on June 24. On June 17 she gave anafternoon ' Recital ' at the Hanover Square rooms,the programme of which is worth preserving.
1. Beethoven, Variations in Eb on Theme fromthe Eroiea ; 2. Sterndale Bennett, Two Diver-sions (op. 17), Suite de pieces (op. 24, No. 1) ;
3. Clara Schumann, Variations on theme fromSchumann's ' Bunte Blatter ' ; 4. Brahms,Sarabande auJ Gavotte in the style of Bach
;
5. Scarlatti, Piece in A major ; 6. R. Schumann'sCarnaval (omittingEusebius, Florestan,Coquette,Replique, Estrella, and Aveu). She returnedfrom London to Bonn just in time to receive
her husband's last breath (July 29, 1866).After this event she and her family resided
for some years in Berlin with her mother, whohad separated from Wieck and had married amusician named Bargiel ; and in 1863 she settled
at Baden-Baden, in the Lichtenthal, which thenbecame her usual headquarters till 1874.
Her reception in this conservative countrywas hardly such as to encourage her to repeather visit ; she appeared again at the Philhar-
monic on June 29, 1857, and on June 27, 1859.In a few years the appreciation of Schumann'smusic had greatly increased on this side theChannel ; and the anxiety of amateurs to hearan artist whose fame on the continent wasso great, became so loudly expressed, that
Mme. Schumann was induced to make anothervisit. She played at the Philharmonic, May 29,
1865, Musical Union, April 18, 26, and June 6,
etc. etc. In 1867 she returned again, andafter this her visit became an annual one up to
1882, interrupted only in 1878, 1879, 1880,
when health and other circumstances did notpermit her to travel. She came again in 1885,
1886, 1887, and 1888. In 1866 she again
visited Austria, and gave six concerts at Vienna
;
and any coldness that the Viennese may havepreviously shown towards her husband's com-positions was then amply atoned for.
In 1878 she accepted the post of principal
teacher of the pianoforte in the Coriservatoire
founded by Dr. Hoch at Frankfort, where she
lived and worked with great success until the
end of her life. She died there. May 20,
1896.
This is not the place or the time to speak of
the charm of Madame Schumann's personality,
of the atmosphere of noble and earnest simplicity
which surrounded her in private life no less
than in her public performance. Those whohad the privilege of her acquaintance do notneed such description, and for those who hadnot it is unnecessary to make the attempt.
She was deeply and widely beloved, and at atime when there appeared to be a prospect of
her being compelled by ill health to abandonher public appearances, the esteem and affection
of her numerous friends took the practical form
of a subscription, and a considerable sum of
money was raised in Germany and England for
her use.
I am indebted to Mr. Franklin Taylor for
the following characterisation of Mme. Schu-
mann's style and works.
As an artist, Mme. Schumann's place was
indubitably in the very first rank, indeed she
may perhaps be considered to stand higher
than any of her contemporaries, if not as
regards the possession of natural or acquired
gifts, yet in the use she made of them. Herplaying was characterised by an entire absence
of personal display, a keen perception of the
composer's meaning, and an unfailing power of
setting it forth in perfectly intelligible form.
These qualities would lead one to pronounce
her one of the most intellectual of players,
were it not that that term has come to implya certain coldness or want of feeling, which wasnever perceived in her playing. But just such
a use of the intellectual powers as serves the
purposes of true art, ensuring perfcot accuracy
in all respects, no liberties being taken with
the text, even when playing from memory,and above all securing an interpretation of the
composer's work which is at once intelligible to
the listener—this certainly formed an essential
element of her playing, and it is worth while
insisting on this, since the absence of that
strict accuracy and perspicuity is too often
mistaken for evidence of deep emotional inten-
tion. With all this, however, Mme. Schumann'splaying evinced great warmth of feeling, and a
true poet's appreciation of absolute beauty, so
that nothing ever sounded harsh or ugly in her
hands ; indeed it may fairly be said that after
hearing her play a fine work (she never played
what is not good), one always became awarethat it contained beauties undiscovered before.
This was, no doubt, partly due to the peculiarly
beautiful quality of the tone she produced,
which was rich and vigorous without the
slightest harshness, and was obtained, even in
the loudest passages, by pressure with the
fingers rather than by percussion. Indeed,
her playing was particularly free from violent
movement of any kind ; in passages, the fingers
were kept close to the keys and squeezed instead
of striking them, while chords were grasped
from the wrist rather than struck from the
elbow. She founded her techniqiie upon the
principle laid down by her father, F. Wieck,
who was also her instructor, that 'the touch
(i.e. the blow of the finger upon the key) should
never be audible, but only the musical sound,'
an axiom the truth of which there is somedanger of overlooking, in the endeavour to
compass the extreme difficulties of certain kinds
of modem pianoforte music.
Mme. Schumann's repertoire was very large,
CLARA JOSEPHINE SCHUMANN
SCHUMANN 345
extending from Scarlatti and Bach to Mendels-
sohn, Chopin, and Brahms, and it would be
difficult to say that she excelled in her render-
ing of any one composer's works rather than
another's, unless it be in her interpretation of
her husband's music. And even here, if she
was pronounced by general opinion to be
greatest in her playing of Schumann, it is
probably because it was to her inimitable
performances that we owe, in this country at
least, the appreciation and love of his music
now happily become universal, and thus the
player shared in the acknowledgment she wonfor the composer.
Mme. Schumann's compositions, though not
very numerous, evince that earnestness of pur-
pose which distinguished her work in general.
Even her earliest essays, which are short piano-
forte-pieces written for the most part in dance-
form, are redeemed from any approach to
triviality by their interesting rhythms, and in
particular by the freshness of their modulations,
the latter being indeed in some cases original
even to abruptness. Their general characteristic
is that of delicacy rather than force, their
frequent staccato passages and the many skip-
ping grace-notes which are constantly met withrequiring for their performance a touch of the
daintiest lightness ; although qualities of anopposite kind are occasionally shown, as in the
'Souvenir de Vienne,' op. 9, which is a set of
variations in bravura style on Haydn's Austrian
Hymn. Among her more serious compositions
of later date are a, Trio in G minor for piano-
forte, violin and violoncello, op. 17, which is
thoroughly musicianlike and interesting, three
charming Cadenzas to Beethoven's Concertos,
opp. 37 and 58, and a set of three Preludes andFugues, op. 16, which deserve mention not
only on account of their excellent construction,
but as forming a most valuable study in legato
part-playing. There is also a Piano Concerto,
op. 7, dedicated to Spohr, of which the passages
(though not the modulations) remind one of
Hummel ; but it is a short work and not well
balanced, the first movement being reduced to
a single solo, which ends on the dominant, andleads at once to the Andante.
In the later works, as might naturally be
expected, there are many movements which
bear traces of the influence of Schumann's
music both in harmony and rhythm, but this
influence, which first seems perceptible in the
•Soir&s Musicales,' opp. 5, 6, is afterwards less
noticeable in the pianoforte works than in the
songs, many of which are of great beauty, and
some of which (see op. 12) were incorporated
into collections by Schumann. Her ' Liebst du
um Schonheit ' is one of the most expressive
songs in existence. Schumann himself has
made use of themes by Mme. Schumann in
several instances, namely in his Impromptus, op.
5 (on the theme of her Variations op. 3, which
are dedicated to him), in the Andantino of his
Sonata in F minor op. 14, and (as a 'motto')
in the 'Davidsbiindlertanze,' op. 6.
The following is a list of Mme. Schumann's
compositions :
—
Op.
346 1810- SCHUMANN -1828
modern German music, and his sound musician-
ship the originality of his ideas, and the skill
of their treatment, mark him as a worthymember of the party which most strenuouslyresists the attacks of the ultra-modem writers.
(Paul Hielscher, in Monographen modemerMusiker ; Riemann's Lmkon.') m.SCHUMANN, RoBBBT Alexander, bom
June 8, 1810, at Zwickau in Saxony, was theyoungest son of Friedrioh August Gottlob Schu-mann (bora 1773), a bookseller, whose father
was a clergyman in Saxony ; the composer'smother, Johanna Christiana (born 1771), wasthe daughter of Herr Schnabel, Rathschirurgus(surgeon to the town oouncU) at Zeitz. Schu-mann cannot have received any incitementtowards music from his parents ; his father,
however, took a lively interest in the lelles lettres,
and was himself known as an author. Hepromoted his son's leanings towards art in everypossible way, with which however his motherseems to have had no sympathy. In the small
provincial town where Schumann spent the first
eighteen years of his life there was no musiciancapable of helping him beyond the mere rudi-
ments of the art. There was a talented town-musician, who for several decades was the best
trumpeter in the district,' but, as was commonlythe case, he practised his art simply as a
trade. 'The organist of the Marienkirche, J. G.
Kuntzsoh, Schumann's first pianoforte teacher,
after a few years declared that his pupil wasable to progress alone, and that his instruc-
tion might cease. He was so impressed withthe boy's talent, that when Schumann subse-
quently resolved to devote himself wholly to
art, Kuntzsch prophesied that he would attain
to fame and immortality, and that in himthe world would possess one of its greatest
musicians. Some twenty years later, in 1845,Schumann dedicated to him his Studies for the
Pedal-Piano, op. 56. [See vol. ii. p. 612.]
His gift for music showed itself early. Hebegan to compose, as he tells us himself, before
he was seven. According to this he must have
begun to play the piano, at latest, in his sixth
year. When he was about eleven, he accom-
panied at a performance of Friedrich Schneider's' Weltgerioht, ' conducted by Kuntzsoh, standing
up at the piano to do it. At home, with the
aid of some young musical companions, he got
up performances of vocal and instrumental
music which he arranged to suit their humblepowers. In more extended circles, too, heappeared as a pianoforte-player, and is said to
have had a wonderful gift for extempore play-
ing. His father took steps to procure for himthe tuition of 0. M. von Weber, who hadshortly before (1817) been appointed Capell-
meister in Dresden. Weber declared himself
ready to undertake the guidance of the younggenius, but the scheme fell through for reasons
1 BchamaDn's OetammeUe Bchri/ten, ii. 126 (lat ed.).
unknown. From that time Schumann remained
at Zwickau, where circumstances were not
favourable to musical progress ; he was left to
his own instruction, and every inducement to
further progress must have come from himself
alone. Under these circumstances, a journey
made when he was nine years old to Carlsbad,
where he first heard a great pianoforte-player
—
Ignaz Moscheles—must have been an event
never to be forgotten ; and indeed during hia
whole life he retained a predilection for certain
of Moscheles's works, and a reverence for his
person. The influence of the pianoforte tech-
nique ofMoscheles on him appearsverydistinctly
in the variations published as op. 1.
At the age of ten he entered the fourth class
at the Gymnasium (or Academy) at Zwickau,
and remained there till Easter, 1828. He hadthen risen to the first class, and left ^th a
certificate of qualification for the University.
During this period his devotion to music seems
to have been for a time rather less eager, in
consequence of the interference of his school-
work and of other tastes. Now, at the close
of his boyhood, a strong interest in poetry,
which had been previously observed in him,
but which had meanwhile been merged in
his taste for music, revived with increased
strength ; he rummaged through his father's
book-shop, which favoured this tendency, in
search of works on the art of poetry; poetical
attempts of his own were more frequent, andat the age of fourteen Robert had already
contributed some literary efibrts to a workbrought out by his father and called Bilder-
gallerie der beriihmtesten Menschen aller Vblkerund Zeiten. That he had a gift for poetry is
evident from two Epithalamia given by Wasie-lewski (Biographie, 3rd ed., Bonn, 1880, p.
305). In 1827 he set a number of his ownpoems to music, and it is worthy of note thatit was not by the classical works of Goethe andSchiller that Schumann was most stronglyattracted. His favourite writers were Sohulze,
author of ' Die bezauberte Rose ' ; the unhappyFranz von Sonnenberg ; Byron, and, above all,
Jean Paul, with whose works he made acquaint-ance in his seventeenth year (at the same timeas with the compositions of Franz Schubert).
These poets represent the cycle of views,
sentiments, and feelings, under whose spell
Schumann's poetical taste, strictly speaking,remained throughout his life. And in nomusician has the influence of his poetical
tastes on his music been deeper than in him.On March 29, 1828, Schumann matriculated
at- the University of Leipzig as Studiosus Juris.
It would have been more in accordance withhis inclinations to have devoted himself at
once wholly to art, and his father would nodoubt have consented to his so' doing ; but hehad lost his father in 1826, and his motherwould not hear of an artist's career. Her son
1828- SCHUMANN —1829 347
dutifully submitted, although he waa decidedlyaverse to the study of jurisprudence. Beforeactually joining the university he took a shortpleasure trip into South Germany, in April 1828.He had made acquaintance in Leipzig with afellow -student named Gisbert Eosen ; and acommon enthusiasm for Jean Paul soon led to
a devoted and sympathetic friendship. Rosenwent to study at Heidelberg, and the first object
of Schumann's journey was to accompany himon his way. In Munich he made the acquaint-
ance of Heine, in whose house he spent several
hours. On his return journey he stopped at
Bayreuth to visit Jean Paul's widow, andreceived from her a portrait of her husband.
During the first few months of his university
life, Schumann was in a gloomy frame of mind.A students' club to which he belonged for a,
time, struck him as coarse and shallow, and hecould not make up Bis mind to begin the course
of study he had selected. A large part of the
first half-year had passed by and still—as hewrites to his friend—he had been to no college,
but 'had worked exclusively in private, that
is to say, had played the piano and written afew letters and Jean Pauliads.'
In this voluntary inactivity and solitude
the study of Jean Paul must certainly havehad a special charm for him. That writer,
unsurpassed in depicting the tender emotions,
with Ms dazzling and even extravagant play
of digressive fancy, his excess of feeling over
dramatic power, his incessant alternations be-
tween tears and laughter, has always been
the idol of sentimental women and ecstatic
youths. ' If everybody read Jean Paul, ' Schu-
mann writes to Rosen, ' they would be better-
natufed, but they would be unhappier ; he has
often brought me to the verge of desperation,
still the rainbow of peace bends serenely above
all the tears, and the soul is wonderfully lifted
up and tenderly glorified.' Even in his latest
years Schumann would become violently angry if
any one ventured to doubt or criticise Jean Paul's
greatness as an imaginative writer, and the
close affinity of their natures is unmistakable.
Schumann himself tell us how once, as a child,
at midnight, when all the household were
asleep, he had in a dream and with his eyes
closed, stolen down to the old piano, andplayed a series of chords, weeping bitterly the
while. So early did he betray that tendency
to overstrung emotion which found its most
powerful nourishment in Jean Paul's writings.
Music, however, is a social art, and it soon
brought him back again to human life. In the
house of Professor Cams' he made several
interesting acquaintances, especially that of
Marschner, who was then living in Leipzig, and
had brought out his 'Vampyr' there in the
spring of 1828. His first meeting with Wieok,
1 * PaHetaHmt Carua, led clarUB irOer doctot.' (Berlioz, Voyage
Muttcal, Letter IV.)
the father of his future wife, took place in the
sameyear ; and Schumann took severalpianoforte
lessons from him. Several music-loving studentsmet together there, and all kinds of chamber-music were practised. They devoted themselveswith especial ardour to the works of Schubert,
whose death, on Nov.. 19, 1828, was deeply felt
by Schumann. Impelled by Schubert's example,he wrote at this time eight Polonaises for four
hands ; also a Quartet for piano and strings,
and a number of songs to Byron's words ; all of
which remain unpublished. Besides these occu-
pations, he made a more intimate acquaintancewith the clavier works of Sebastian Bach. It
is almost self-evident thatwhat chiefly fascinated
Schumann in Bach's compositions was themysterious depth of sentiment revealed in them.Were it not so, it would be impossible to con-
ceive of Bach in connection with the chaotic JeanPaul ; and yet Schumann himself says that in
early life Bach and Jean Paul had exercised the
most powerful influence upon him. Considering
the way in which his musical education hadbeen left to itself, the fact of his so thoroughly
appreciating the wealth and fulness of life in
Bach's compositions at a time when Bach waslooked upon only as a great contrapuntist, is
clear evidence of the greatness of his own genius,
which indeed had some affinity to that of Bach.
The ingenuity of outward form in Bach's workswas neither strange nor unintelligible to him.For although Schumann had hitherto had noinstructor in composition, it need scarcely be said
that he had long ago made himself familiar withthe most essential parts of the composer's art,
and that constant practice in composition musthave given him much knowledge and skill in
this branch of his art.
At Easter, 1829, Schumann followedhis friend
Eosen to the university of Heidelberg. Theyoung jurists were perhaps tempted thither bythe lectures of the famous teacher, A. F. J.
Thibaut ; but it is evident that other things
contributed to form Schumann's resolution : thesituation of the town,—a perfect Paradise,—the
gaiety ofthe people, and the nearness of Switzer-
land, Italy, and France. A delightful prospect
promised to open to him there : ' That will belife indeed !
' he writes to his friend ;' at
Michaelmas we will go to Switzerland, and fromthence who knows where ?
' On his journey to
Heidelberg chance threw him into the society
of Willibald Alexis. Alexis had trodden thepath which Schumann was destined to follow,
and had reached art by way of the law. Nodoubt this added to Schumann's interest in theacquaintance. It cannot be denied that evenin Heidelberg Schumann carried on his legal
studies in a very desultory manner, thoughThibaut himself was a living proof that that
branch of learning could co-exist with a true
love and comprehension of music. Only a fewyears before (in 1825) Thibaut. had published
348 1829- SCHUMANN -1830
his little book, Ueber Reinheit der Tonhwnsl, awork which at that time essentially contributed
to alter the direction of musical taste in
Germany. Just as in his volume Thibaut attacks
the degenerate state of church music, Schumann,at a later date, was destined to take up armsin word and deed, against the flat insipidity of
concert and chamber music. Nevertheless thetwo men never became really intimate ; in one,
no doubt, the doctor too greatly preponderated,and in the other the artist. Thibaut himselfsubsequently advised Schumann to abandon thelaw, and devote himself entirely to music.
Indeed, if Schumann was industrious in any-thing at Heidelberg it was in pianoforte-playing.
After practising for seven hours in the day, hewould invite a friend to come in the eveningand play with him, adding that he felt in a
particularly happy vein that day ; and evenduring an excursion with friends he would take
a dumb keyboard with him in the carriage. Bydiligent use of the instruction he had received
from Wieck in Leipzig, he brought himself to
high perfection as an executant ; and at the
same time increased his skill in improvisation.
One of his musical associates at this time used
afterwards to say that from the playing of noother artist, however great, had he ever ex-
perienced such ineffaceable musical impressions ;
the ideas seem to pour into the player's mindin an inexhaustible floWj and their profound
originality and poetic charm already clearly
foreshadowed the main features of his musical
individuality. Schumann appeared only once in
public, at a concert given by a musical society
at Heidelberg, where he played Moscheles's
variations on the ' Alexandermarsch ' with great
success. He received many requests to play
again, but refused them all, probably, as a
student, finding it not expedient.
It will no doubt be a matter of surprise that
Schumann could have justified himself in thus
spending year after year in a merely nominal
study of tte law, while in fact wholly given upto his favourite pursuit. A certain lack of
determination, a certain shrinking from any-
thing disagreeable, betray themselves during
these years as his general characteristics, andwere perhaps an integral part of his nature. Atthe same time his conduct is to a certain extent
explicable, by the general conditions of Germanstudent -life. Out of the strict discipline of
the Gymnasium the student steps at once into
•the unlimited freedom of the University. It
was the intoxicating poetry of the student life
which Schumann drank in deep draughts. Its
coarseness was repellent to his refined nature,
and his innate purity and nobility guardedhim against moral degradation ; but he lived
like a rover rejoicing in this bright world as it
lies open to him, worked little, spent much, got
into debt, and was as happy as a fish in the
water. Besides its tender and rapturous side,
his nature had a vein of native sharpness andhumour. With all these peculiarities he could
live his student's life to the full, though in his .
own apparently quiet and unassertive way.
The letters in which he discusses money-matters
with his guardian, Herr Rudel, a merchant of
Zwickau, show how he indulged his humorousmood even in these :
' Dismal things I have to
tell you, respected Herr Rudel,' he writes onJune 21, 1830; 'in the first place, that I
have a repetitorium which costs eighty gulden
every half-year, and secondly, that within a
week I have been under arrest by the town (don't
be shocked) for not paying thirty gulden of
other college dues.' And on another occasion,
when the money he had asked for to make a
journey home for the holidays did not arrive
:
' I am the only student here, and wander alone
about the streets and woods, forlorn and poor,
like a beggar, and with debts into the bargain.
Be kind, most respected Herr Rudel, and only
this once send me some money—only money
—
and do not drive me to seek means of setting
out which might not be pleasant to you. ' Thereasons he employs to prove to his guardian
that he ought not to be deprived of means for a
journey into Italy are most amusing :' At any
rate I shall have made thejourney : and as I
must make it once, it is all the same whether I
use the money for it now or later.' His com-positions, too, plainly show how deeply the
poetical aspect of student life had affected him,
and had left its permanent mark on him.
I need only remind the reader of Kerner's' Wanderlied ' (op. 35, No. 3), dedicated to anold fellow-student at Heidelberg, and of Eichen-
dorff 's ' Friihlingsfahrt ' (op. 45, No. 2). AmongGerman songs of the highest class, there is notone in which the effervescent buoyancy of youthcraving for distant flights has found such full
expression, at once so thoroughly German andso purely ideal, as in this 'Wanderlied,' whichindeed, with a different tune, is actually one of
the most favourite of student songs. ' Friih-
lingsfahrt' tells of two young comrades whoquit home for the first time, one of whom soon
finds a regular subsistence and a comfortable
home, while the other pursues glittering visions,
yields to the thousand temptations of the world,
and finally perishes ; it is a portrait of a Germanstudent drawn from the life, and the way in
which Schumann has treated it shows that hewas drawing on the stores of his own experience.
Several journeys also served to infuse into
Schumann's student life the delight of free andunrestrained movement. In August 1829 he
went for a pleasure trip to North Italy, quite
alone, for two friends who had intended to go
failed him. But perhaps the contemplative anddreamy youth enjoyed the loveliness of the
country and the sympathetic Italian nature only
the more thoroughly for being alone. Nor were
little adventures of gallantry wanting. Frag-
1830— SCHUMANN —1832 349
ment3 of a diary kept at this time, which are
preserved (Waaielewski, p. 325), reveal to usthe pleasant sociableness of the life which Schu-mann now delighted in. The Italian musicwhich he then heard could indeed do little to-
wards his improvement, except that it gave him,for the first time, the opportunity of hearing
Paganini. The deep impression made by that
remarkable player is shown by Schumann's visit
to Frankfort (Easter, 1830) with several friends
to hear him again, and by his arrangement of
his ' Caprices ' for the pianoforte (opp. 3 and 10).
Shortly after this he seems to have heard Ernst
also in Frankfort. In the summer of 1830 hemade a tour to Strasburg, and on the way backto Saxony visited his friend Eosen at Detmold.When Schumann entered upon his third year
of study, he made a serious effort to devote
himself to jurisprudence ; he took what wascalled a Bepetitorium, that is, he began going
over again with considerable difficulty, andunder the care and guidance of an old lawyer,
what he had neglected during two years. Healso endeavoured to reconcile himself to the
idea of practical work in public life or the
government service. His spirit soared up to
the highest goal, and at times he may haveflattered his fancy with • dreams of havingattained it ; but he must have been convinced
of the improbability of such dreams ever comingtrue ; and indeed he never got rid of his
antipathy to the law as a profession, even in
the whole course of his Eepetitorium. On the
other hand, it must be said, that if he was ever
to be a musician, it was becoming high time
for it, since he was now twenty years old.
Thus every consideration urged him to the
point. Schumann induced his mother, whowas stiU extremely averse to the calling of a
musician, to put the decision in the hands of
Friedrich Wieck. Wieck did not conceal from
him that such a step ought only to be taken
after the most thorough self-examination, but if
he had already examined himself, then Wieckcould only advise him to take the step. Uponthis his mother yielded, and Robert Schumannbecame a musician. The delight and freedom
which he inwardly felt when the die was cast,
must have shown him that he had done right.
At first his intention was only to make himself
a great pianoforte-player, and he reckoned that
in six years he would be able to (?ompete with
any pianist. But he still felt very uncertain as
to his gift as a composer ; the words which he
wrote to his mother on July 30, 1830—'Nowand then I discover that I have imagination,
and perhaps a turn for creating things myself
'
—sound curiously wanting in confidence, whenwe remember how almost exclusively Schumann's
artistic greatness was to find expression in his
compositions.
He quitted Heidelberg late in the summerof 1830, in order to resume his studies with
Wieck in Leipzig. He was resolved, after
having wasted two years and a half, to devote
himself to his new calling with energetic purpose
and manly vigour. And faithfully did he keepto his resolution. The plan of becoming a great
pianist had, however, to be given up after a year.
Actuated by the passionate desire to achieve a,
perfect technique as speedily as possible, Schu-mann deviseda contrivance by which the greatest
possible dexterity of finger was to be attained
in the shortest time. By means of this ingenious
appliance the third finger was drawn backand kept still, while the other fingers had to
practise exercises. But the result was that the
tendons of the third finger were overstrained,
the finger was crippled, and for some time the
whole right hand was injured. This most serious
condition was alleviated by medical treatment.
Schumann recovered the use of his hand, andcould, when needful, even play the piano ; but
the third finger remained useless, so that hewas for ever precluded from the career of a
virtuoso. Although express evidence is wanting,
we may assume with certainty that this un-
expected misfortune made a deep impression
upon him ; he saw himself once more con-
fronted with the question whether it was advis-
able for him to continue in the calling he hadchosen. That he answered it in the affirmative
shows that during this time his confidence in
his own creative genius had wonderfully in-
creased. He soon reconciled himself to the
inevitable, learned to appreciate mechanical
dexterity at its true value, and turned his
undivided attention to composition. He con-
tinued henceforth in the most friendly rela-
tions with his pianoforte-master, Wieck ; indeed
until the autumn of 1832 he lived in the samehouse with him (Grimmaische Strasse, No. 36),
and was almost one of the family. For his
instructor in composition, however, he chose
Heinrich Dorn, at that time conductor of the
opera in Leipzig, subsequently Capellmeister at
Riga, Cologne, and Berlin, who lived till 1892.
Dorn was a clever and sterling composer ; herecognised the gieatness of Schumann's genius,
and devoted himself with much interest to his
improvement.' It was impossible as yet to
confine Schumann to a regular course of com-position : he worked very diligently, but wouldtake up now one point of the art of composition
and now another. In 1836 he writes to Dornat Riga that he often regi'ets having learnt in
too irregular a manner at this time ; but whenhe adds directly afterwards that, notwithstand-
ing this, he had learnt more fromDom's teaching
than Dorn would believe, we may take this last
statement as true. Schumann was no longer a
tyro in composition, but had true musical genius,
and his spirit was already matured. Under such
1 Schumann's grafcitude tohim ]8 thus expresaed :—
' The man whoftnt gave a hand to me ae 1 climbed upwards, and, when I began todoubt myself , drew me aloft so that! should see leas of the commonherd of mankind, and more of the pure air of art.'
350 1832- SCHUMANN -1834
ciicumstances he was justified in learning in
his own way.
In the winter of 1832- 33, he lived at
Zwickau, and for a time also with his brothers
at Sohneeberg. Besides « pianoforte-concerto,
which still remains a fragment, he was workingat a symphony in G minor, of which the first
movement was publicly performed in the course
of the winter both at Sohneeberg and Zwickau.If we may trust the evidence of the Musika-lisches WocheTiMaM, Leipzig, 1875, p. 180, the
whole symphony was performed at Zwickau in
1885, under Schumann's own direction, and the
last movement was almost a failure.
At all events the symphony was finished, andSchumann expected it to be a great success ; in
this he must have been disappointed, for it has
never been published. The first performance of
the first movement at Zwickau took place at a
concert given there on Nov. 18, 1832, byWieok'sdaughter Clara, who was then thirteen years of
age. Even then the performances of this gifted
girl, who was so soon to take her place as the
greatest female pianist of Germany, were as-
tonishing, and by them, as Schumann puts it,
'Zwickau was fired with enthusiasm for the
first time in its life. ' It is easily conceivable
that Schumann himself was enthusiastically
delighted with Clara, adorned as she was with
the twofold charm of childlike sweetness andartistic genius. ' Think of perfection, ' he writes
to a friend about her on April 5, 1833, 'and
I will agree to it.' And many expressions in
his letters seem even to betray a deeper feeling,
of which he himself did not become fully aware
until several years later.
Schumann's circumstances allowed him to
revisit Leipzig in March 1833, and even to live
there for a time without any definite occupa-
tion. He was not exactly well off, but he had
enough to enable him to live as a single manof moderate means. The poverty from which
so many of the greatest musicians have
suffered, never formed part of Schumann's
experience. He occupied himself with studies-
in composition chiefly in the contrapuntal style,
in which he had taken the liveliest interest
since makiug the acquaintance of Bach's works;
besides this his imagination, asserting itself
more and more strongly, impelled him to the
creation of free compositions. From this year
date the impromptus for piano on a romanceby Clara Wieck, which Schumann dedicated to
her father, and published in August 1833, as
op. 5. In June he wrote the first and third
movements of the G minor Sonata (op. 22),
and at the same time began the FJt minor Sonata
(op. 11) and completed the Toccata (op. 7),
which had been begun in 1829. He also
arranged a second setof Paganini's violin caprices
for the piano (op. 10), having made a first
attempt of the same kind (op. 3) in the previous
year. Meanwhile he lived a quiet and almost
monotonous life. Of family acquaintances h«
had few, nor did he seek them. He found a
faithful friend in Frau Henriette Voigt, whowas as excellent a pianist as she was noble and
sympathetic in soul. She was a pupil of
Ludwig Berger, of Berlin, and died young in
the year 1839. Schumann was wont as a rule
to spend his evenings with a small number of
intimate friends in a restaurant. These gather-
ings generally took place at the ' Kaffeebaum
'
(Kleine Fleischergasse, No. 3). He himself,
however, generally remained silent by preference,
even in this confidential circleof friends. Readily
as he could express himself with his pen, hehad but little power of speech. Even in affairs
of no importance, which could have been trans-
acted most readily and simply by word of
mouth, he usually preferred to write. It was,
moreover, a kind of enjoyment to him to musein dreamy silence. Henriette Voigt told W.Taubert that one lovely summer evening, after
making music with Schumann, they both felt in-
clined to go on the water. They sat side by side
in the boat for an hour in silence. At parting
Schumann pressed her hand and said, ' To-day
we have perfectly understood one another.'
It was at these evening gatherings at the
restaurant in the winter of 1833-34 that the
plan of starting a new musical paper wasmatured. It was the protest of youth, feeling
itself impelled to new things in art, against
the existing state of music. Although Weber,Beethoven, and Schubert had only been dead a
few years, though Spohr and Marsohner werestill in their prime, and Mendelssohn wasbeginning to be celebrated, the general character-
istic of the music of about the year 1830 waseither superficiality or else vulgar mediocrity.' On the stage Eossini still reigned supreme,
and on the pianoforte scarcely anything washeard but Herz and Hiinten.' Under these
conditions the war might have been moresuitably carried on by means of importantworks of art than by a periodical about music.
Musical criticism, however, was itself in a badway at this time. The periodical called
GcecUia, published by Sohott, which had been
in existence since 1824, was unfitted for the
general reader, both by its contents and by the
fact of its publication in parts. The Berliner
allgermine rmmJcaliscJie Zeitung, conducted byMarx, had come to an end in 1830. The only
periodical of influence and importance in 1833was the AUgememe musikalische Zeitung, pub-lished by Breitkopf & Hartel of Leipzig, and at
that time edited by G. W. Fink. But the
narrow view taken of criticism in that periodical,
its inane mildness ofjudgment—Schumann usedto call it ' Honigpinselei ' or ' Honey-daubing
'
—its lenity towards the reigning insipidity andsuperficiality, could not but provoke contradic-
tion from young people of high aims. And theidea of first bringing the lever to bear on the
1834- SCHUMANN —1835 351
domain of critical authorship, in order to trytheir strength, must have been all the moreattractive to these hot-headed youths, since
most of them had had the advantage of a soundscholarly education and knew how to handletheir pens. On the other hand, they felt thatthey were not yet strong enough to guide thepublic taste into new paths by their own musicalproductions ; and of all the set Schumann wasthe most sensible of this fact.
Such were the grounds on which, on April 3,
1834, the first number of the Neue Zeitschrift
fur Musik saw the light. Schumann himselfcalled it the organ of youth and movement.As its motto he even chose this passage fromthe prologue to Shakespeare's Henry VIII. :
—Only they
Who come to hear a merry bawdy play,A noise of targets, or to see a fellowIn a long motley coat guarded with yellow,Will be deceived
—
a passage which sufficiently expresses his inten-
tion of contending against an empty flattering
style of criticism, and upholding the dignity of
art. ' The day of reciprocal compliments, ' says
the preliminary notice, ' is gradually d^ing out,
and we must confess that we shall do nothingtowards reviving it. The critic who dares notattack what is bad, is but a half-hearted
supporter of what is good.' The doings of' the three arch-foes of art—those who have notalent, those who have vulgar talent, and those
who, having real talent, write too much,' are not
to be left in peace ;' their latest phase, the re-
sult of a mere cultivation of executive techniqiie,'
it is to be opposed as inartistic. 'The older
time,' on the other hand, 'and the works it
produced, are to be recalled with insistence,
since it is only at these pure sources that newbeauties in art can be found.' Moreover, the
Zeitschrift is to assist in bringing in a new' poetic ' period by its benevolent encouragement
of the higher efforts of young artists, and to
accelerate its advent. The editing was in the
hands of Robert Schumann, Friedrich Wieck,
Ludwig Schunke, and Julius Knorr.
Of all these Schunke alone was exclusively
a musician. That gifted pianist, who belonged
to a widely dispersed family of esteemed
musicians, came to Leipzig in 1833, andbecame a great friend of Schumann's, but died
at the end of the following year at the early age
of twenty-four. The three other editors were
by education halfmusicians and haXf lUUrateurs,
even Julius Knorr (bom 1807) having studied
philology in Leipzig. Schumann co-operated
largely in Sohunke's contributions (signed with
the figure 3), for handling the pen was not easy
to him. Hartmann of Leipzig was at first the
publisher and proprietor of the Zeitschrift,
but at the beginning of 1835 it passed into
the hands of J. A. Barth of Leipzig, Schumann
becoming at the same time proprietor and sole
editor. He continued the undertaking under
these conditions till the end of June 1844 ; sothat his management of the paper extended overa period of above ten years. On Jan. 1, 1845,Franz Brendel became the editor, and after thesummer of 1844 Schumann never again wrotefor it, with the exception of a short article ' onJohannes Brahms to be mentioned hereafter.
Schumann's own articles are sometimes signedwith a number—either 2 or some combinationwith 2, such as 12, 22, etc. He also concealedhis identity under a variety ofnames—Florestan,Eusebius, Earo, Jeanquirit. In his articles wemeetwithfrequentmention of the Davidsbiindler,a league or society of artists or friends of art whohad views in common. This was purely imagin-ary, a half- humorous, half-poetical fiction ofSchumann's, existing only in the brain of its
founder, who thought it well fitted to giveweight to the expression of various views of art,
which were occasionally put forth as its utter-
ances. The characters which most usually ap-
pear are Florestan and Eusebius, two personagesin whom Schumann endeavoured to embody thedual sides of his nature. The vehement, stormy,
rough element is represented by Florestan ; thegentler and more poetic by Eusebius. Thesetwo figures are obviously imitated from Vultand Walt in Jean Paul's Flegeljahre ; indeedSchumann's literary work throughout is strongly
coloured with the manner of Jean Paul, andfrequent reference is made to his writings. Nowand then, as moderator between these an-
tagonistic characters, who of course take opposite
views in criticism, ' Master Raro ' comes in. Inhim Schumann has conceived a character suchas at one time he had himself dreamed of
becoming. Theexplanation ofthename 'Davids-
biindler ' is given at the beginning of a ' ShroveTuesday discourse ' by Florestan in the year1835. 'The hosts of David are youths andmen destined to slay all the Philistines, musicalor other. ' In the college-slang of Germany the' Philistine ' is the non-student who is satisfied
to live on in the ordinary routine of every-day
life, or—which comes to the same thing in the
student's mind—the man of narrow, sober,
prosaic views, as contrasted with the high-flown
poetry and enthusiasm of the social life of a
German university. Thus, in the name of Ideal-
ism, the 'Davidsbiindler 'wage war against boor-
ish mediocrity, and when Schumann regarded it
as the function of his paper to aid in bringing in
a new ' poetical phase ' in music he meant just
this. Though Schumann was himself the sole
reality inthe 'Davidsbiindlerschaft,' he indulged
his 'fancy by introducing personages of his
acquaintance whose agreement with his views
he was sure of. He quietly included all the
principal co-operators in \he Zeitschrift, and evenartists such as Berlioz, whom he did not know,but in whom he felt an interest, and was thusjustified in writing to A. von Zuccalmaglio in
1 Neue Bahnen, Oct. 28, 1853.
352 1835 SCHUMANN 1835
1836 : 'By the Davidsbund is figured an intel-
leotual brotherhood which ramifies widely, andI hope may bear golden fruit.' He brings in
the brethren, who are not actually himself,
from time to time in the critical discussions
:
and the way in which he contrives to make this
motley troop of romantic forms live and movebefore the eyes of the reader is really quitemagical. He could say with justice :
' We are
now living a romance the like of which hasperhaps never been written in any book.' Wemeet with a Jonathan, who may perhapsstand for Sohunke (on another occasion, how-ever, Schumann designates himself by this
name) ; a Fritz Friedrich probably meant for
Lyser ' the painter, a lover of music ; Serpentinis Carl Banck, a clever composer of songs, whoat the outset was one of his most zealous andmeritorious fellow-workers ; Gottsehalk Wedelis Anton von Zuooalmaglio, then living in
Warsaw, who had made a name by his collection
of German and foreign Volkslieder ; Ohiara is
of course Clara Wieck, and Zilia (apparently
shortened from Cecilia) is probably the same.
Felix Mendelssohn appears under the name of
Felix Meritis, and the name Walt occurs once
(in 1836, Avs den BUchem der Davidsbiindler,
ii. Tanzlitteratur). It cannot be asserted that
any particular person was meant, still his direct
reference to Jean Paul's Flegeljahreia interesting.
There is also a certain Julius among the ' Davids-
biindler,' probably Julius Knorr. The nameoccurs in Schumann's first essay on music, ' Einopus ii.' This is not included in the NeueZeUsehrift, but appears in No. 49 of the
Allgemevne Musikalische Zeitung for 1831 (then
edited by Fink). The editor has prefixed a
note to the effect that ' it is by a young man,a pupil of the latest school, who has given his
name,' and contrasts it with the anonymouswork of a reviewer of the old school discussing
the same piece of music. The contrast is in-
deed striking, and the imaginative flights of
enthusiastic young genius look strange enoughamong the old-world surroundings of the rest of
the paper.
Schumann placed this critique—which deals
with Chopin's variations on ' La ci darem '—at
the beginning of his collected writings, whichhe published towards the close of his life
{GeSammelte Schriften, i vols. Georg Wigand,Leipzig, 1854). It is a good example of the
tone which he adopted in the Neue ZeUsehrift.
His fellow-workers fell more or less into the
same key, not from servility, but because theywere all young men, and because the reaction
against the Philistine style of criticism wasjust then in the air. This may be plainly
detected, for instance, in a critique written byWieck for the periodical called Ooecilia, onChopin's airs with variations. It is easy to
1 Author of the sketch of Beethoven engraved at p. 225 of vol. 1.
of this Dictionary.
understand that the total novelty of the style
of writing of the Neue Zeitschrift should have
attracted attention to music ; the paper soon
obtained a comparatively large circulation;
and as, besides the charm of novelty and style,
it offered a variety of instructive and entertain-
ing matter, and discussed important subjects
earnestly and cleverly, the interest of the
public was kept up, and indeed constantly
increased, from year to year. The influence
exerted by Schumann on musical art in Germanythrough the medium of this paper, cannot but
be regarded as very important.
It has been sometimes said that Schumann'sliterary labours must have done him mischief,
by taking up time and energy which might
have been better employed in composition.
But this view seems to me untenable. Up to
the period at which we have now arrived,
Schumann, on his own statement, had merely
dreamed away his life at the piano. His
tendency to self- concentration, his shyness,
and his independent circumstances, placed himin danger of never achieving that perfect
development of his powers which is possible
only by vigorous exercise. Now the editing of
a journal is an effectual remedy for dreaming ;
and when, at the beginning of 1835, he becamesole editor, however much he may have felt
the inexorable necessity of satisfying his readers
week after week, and of keeping his aimconstantly in view, it was no doubt a mostbeneficial exercise for his will and energies. Hewas conscious of this, or he certainly wouldnot have clung to the paper with such affection
and persistency ; and it is a matter of fact that
the period of his happiest and most vigorous
creativeness coincides pretty nearly with that
during which he was engaged on the ZeUsehrift.
Hence, to suppose that his literary work wasany drawback to his artistic career is an error,
though it is true that as he gradually discovered
the inexhaustible fertility of his creative genius,
he sometimes complained that the details of aneditor's work were a burthen to him. Besides,
the paper was the medium by which Schumannwas first brought into contact and intercourse
with the most illustrious artists of his time
;
and living as he did apart from all the practic-
ally musical circles of Leipzig, it was almost
the only link between himself and the contem-porary world.
Nor must we overlook the fact that certain
peculiar gifts of Schumann's found expression
in his writings on musical subjects, gifts whichwould otherwise scarcely have found room for
display. His poetic talent was probably
neither rich enough nor strong enough for the
production of large independent poems ; but,
on the other hand, it was far too considerable
to be condemned to perpetual silence. In his
essays and critiques, which must be regarded
rather as poetic flights and sympathetic inter-
1835
—
SCHUMANN -1839 353
pretations than as examples of incisive analysis,
his poetical gift found a natural outlet, andliterature is by so much the richer for them.Nay, it is a not unreasonable speculation
whether, if his imaginative powers had notfound this vent they might not have formed a
disturbing and marring element in his musicalcreations. Even as it is, poetical imagery playsan important part in Schumann's music, thoughwithout seriously overstepping the permissible
limits. This, too, we may safely say, that in
spite of his silent and self-contained nature,
there was in Schumann a vein of the genuineagitator, in the best and noblest sense of theword ; he was possessed by the conviction thatthe development of German art, then in progress,
had not yet come to its final term, and thata new phase of its existence was at hand.Throughout his writings we find this viewbeautifully and poetically expressed, as for
instance, ' Consciously or unconsciously a newand as yet undeveloped school is being foundedon the basis of the Beethoven-Schubert roman-ticism, a school which we may venture to
expect will mark a special epoch in the history
of art. Its destiny seems to be to usher in a
period which will nevertheless have many links
to connect it with the past century. ' Or again :
' A rosy light is dawning in the sky ; whenceit Cometh I know not ; but in any case, Oyouth, make for the light.'
To rouse fresh interest and make use of that
already existing for the advancement of this
new movement was one of his deepest instincts,
and this he largely accomplished Uy means of
his paper. From his pen we have articles onalmost all the most illustrious composers of his
generation—-Mendelssohn, Taubert, Chopin,
Hiller, Heller, Henselt, Sterndale Bennett,
Gade, Kirchner, and Franz, as well as Johannes
Brahms, undoubtedly the most remarkable
composer of the generation after Schumann.On some he first threw the light of intelligent
and enthusiastic literary sympathy ; others he
was actually the first to introduce to the musical
world ; and even Berlioz, a Frenchman, he
eulogised boldly and successfully, recognising
in him a champion of the new idea. By degrees
he would naturally discern that he had thus
prepared the soil for the reception of his ownworks. He felt himself in close affinity with
all these artists, and was more and more con-
firmed in his conviction that he too had some-
thing to say to the world that it had not heard
before. In the Zeitsehrift he must have been
aware that he controlled a power which would
serve to open a shorter route for his own musical
productions. ' If the publisher were not afraid
of the editor, the world would hear nothing of
me—perhaps to the world's advantage. Andyet the black heads of the printed notes are
very pleasant to behold.' 'To give up the
paper would involve the loss of all the reserve
VOL. IV
force which every artist ought to have if he is
to produce easily and freely.'
So he wrote in 1836 and 1837. But at the
same time we must emphatically contradict the
suggestion that Schumann used his paper for
selfish ends. His soul was too entirely noble
and his ideal aims too high to have any purpose
in view but the advancement of art ; and it
was only in so far as his own interests wereinseparable from those of his whole generation,
that he would ever have been capable of for-
warding the fortunes of his own works. Thequestion even whether, and in what manner,his own works should be discussed in the NeueZeitsehrift he always treated with the utmosttact. In one of his letters he clearly expresses
his principles on the subject as follows.: ' I am,to speak frankly, too proud to attempt to in-
fluence Hartel through Fink (editor of theAllgemeine mus. Zeitung) ; and I hate, at all
times, any mode of instigating public opinion
by the artist himself. What is strong enoughworks its own way.
'
His efforts for the good cause indeed wentbeyond essay-writing and composing. Extracts
from a note -book published by Wasielewskiprove that he busied himself with a variety of
plans for musical undertakings of general utility.
Thus he wished to compile lives of Beethovenand of Bach, with a critique of all their works,
and a biographical dictionary of living musicians,
on the same plan. He desired that the relations
of operatic composers and managers should beregulated by law. He wished to establish anagency for the publication of musical works, so
that composers might derive greater benefit fromtheir publications, and gave his mind to a planfor founding a Musical Union in Saxony, withLeipzig as its headquarters, to be the counter-
part of Schilling's Deutscher National Vereiufiir Musik.
In the first period of his editorship, before hehad got into the way of easily mastering his
day's labour, and when the regular round of
work had still the charm of novelty, it was of
course only now and then that he had leisure,
or felt in the mood, for composing. Two great
pianoforte works date from 1834 (the 'Carnaval,'
op. 9, and the ' Etudes Symphoniques,' op. 13),but in 1 835 nothing was completed. After this,
however, Schumann's genius began again to
assert itself, and in the years 1836 to 1839 hecomposed that splendid set of pianoforte worksof the highest excellence, on which a consider-
able part of his fame rests ; viz. the great
Fantasia (op. 17), the F minor Sonata (op.
14), Fantasiestiicke (op. 12), Davidsbiindler-
tanze, Novelletten, Kinderscenen, Kreisleriana,
Humoreske, Faschingsschwank, Eomanzen, andothers. The fount of his creative genius flowedforth ever clearer and more abundantly. ' I usedto rack my brains for a long time,' writes he onMarch 15, 1839, 'but now I scarcely ever
2a
354 1835- SCHUMANN —1839
scratch out a note. It all comes from -within,
and I often feel as if I could go playing straight
on without ever coming to an end.' The in-
fluence of Schumann the author on Schumannthe composer may often be detected. Thusthd ' Davidshiindler ' come into his music, andthe composition which bears their name wasoriginally entitled ' Davidsbiindler, dances for
the Pianoforte, dedicated to Walther von Goetheby Florestan and Eusebius.' The title of theF)( minor Sonata, op. 11, which was completedin 1835, runs thus :
' Pianoforte Sonata. Dedi-cated to Clara by Florestan and Eusebius.' Inthe 'Carnaval,' a set of separate and shorter
pieces with a title to each, the names of Florestan
and Eusebius occur again, as do those of Chia-
rina (the diminutive of Clara), and Chopin;
the whole concluding with a march of the
Davidsbiindler against the Philistines.
The reception of Schumann's works by the
critics was most favourable and encouraging, butthe public was repelled by their eccentricity andoriginality ; and it was not till after the appear-
ance of the ' Kinderseenen ' (1839) that theybegan to be appreciated. Opp. 1 and 2 actually
had the honour of a notice in the Vienna MusikcL-
lische Zeitiimg of 1832, by no less a person
than Grillparzer the poet. Fink designedly tookhardly any notice of Schumann in the Allge-
meine musikalische Zeitung. But Liszt wrote along, discriminating, and very favourable article
in the Gazette Musicale of 1837 upon the Im-promptus (op. 5), and the Sonatas in FJt minorand F minor. Moscheles wrote very sympatheti-
cally on the two sonatas in the Neue Zeitschrift
filr Musik itself (vols. 5 and 6), and some kindwords of recognition of Schumann's genius were
publishedsubsequently fromhis diaiy {Moscheles'
Leben, Leipzig, 1873, vol. ii. p. 15 ; English
translation by A. D. Coleridge, vol. ii. pp. 19,
20). Other musicians, though not expressing
their sentiments publicly, continued to hold
aloof from him, Hauptmann at that time calls
Schumann's pianoforte compositions ' pretty
and curious little things, all wanting in proper
solidity, but otherwise interesting. ' (See Haupt-
mann's Letters to Hmiser, Leipzig, 1871, vol. i.
p. 255.)
In October 1835 the musical world of Leipzig
was enriched by the arrival of Mendelssohn. It
was already in a flourishing state : operas,
concerts, and sacred performances alike were of
great excellence, and well supported by the
public. But although the soil was well pre-
pared before Mendelssohn's arrival, it was hewho raised Leipzig to the position of the mostmusical town of Germany. The extraordinarily
vigorous life that at once grew up there under
the influence of his genius, drawing to itself
from far and near the most important musical
talent of the country, has shown itself to be of
so enduring a character that even at' the present
day its.iiiflttences are felt. Schumann too, who
had long felt great respect for Mendelssohn,
was drawn into his circle. On Oct. 4, 1835,
Mendelssohn conducted his first concert in the
Gewaudhaus ; the day before this there was a
musical gathering at the Wiecks', at which both
Mendelssohn and Schumann were present, andit seems to have been on this occasion that the
two greatest musicians of their time first came
into close personal intercourse. (Moscheles'
Leben, vol. i. p. 301 ; English translation, vol. i.
p. 322.) On Oct. 5, Mendelssohn, Schumann,Moscheles, Banok, and a few others, dined
together. In the afternoon of the 6th there
was again music at Wieck's house ; Moscheles,
Clara Wieck, and L. Rakemann from Bremen,
played Bach's D minor Concerto for three'
claviers, Mendelssohn putting in the orchestral
accompaniments on a fourth piano. Moscheles
had come over from Hamburg, where he wasstaying on a visit, to give a concert in Leipzig.
Schumann hsid already been in correspondence
with him, but this was the first opportunity hehad enjoyed of making the personal acquaint-
ance of the man whose playing had so delighted
him in Carlsbad when a boy of nine. Moscheles'
describes him as 'a retiring but interesting'
young man,' and the FJt minor Sonata, played
to him by Clara Wieck, as ' very laboured,
diflioult, and somewhat intricate, although
interesting.'
A livelier intimacy, so far as Schumann wasconcerned, soon sprang up between him andMendelssohn. When Mendelssohn had to goto Diisseldorf in May 1836, to the first perform-
ance of ' SI. Paul ' at the Niederrheinisehe
Musikfest, Schumann even intended to go withhim, and was ready months beforehand, thoughwhen the time arrived he was prevented fromgoing. They used to like to dine together, andgradually an interesting little circle was formedaround them, including among others Ferdinand
David, whom Mendelssohn had brought to
Leipzig as leader of his orchestra. In the early
part of January 1837 Mendelssohn and Schu-
mann used in this way to meet every day andinterchange ideas, so far as Schumann's silent
temperament would allow. Subsequently whenMendelssohn was kept more at home by his
marriage, this intercourse became rarer. Schu-
mann was by nature unsociable, and at this
time there were outward circumstances whichrendered solitude doubly attractive to him,
Ferdinand Hiller, who spent the winter of
1839-40 in Leipzig with Mendelssohn, relates
that Schumann was at that time living the life
of a recluse and scarcely ever came out of his
room. Mendelssohn and Schumann felt them-selves drawn together by mutual appreciation.
The artistic relations between the two great menwere not as yet, however, thoroughly reciprocal.
Schumann admired Mendelssohn to the pointof enthusiasm. He declared him to be the best
m-oaician then.living, said that helooked up to
1835- SCHUMANN —1839 355
him as to a high moiintain-peak, and that evenin his daily talk about art some thought at least
would he uttered worthy of being graven in
gold. And when he mentions him in his
writings, it is in a tone of enthusiastic admira-
tion, which shows in the best light Schumann'sfine ideal character, so remarkable for its freedom
from envy. And his opinion remained un-
altered ; in 1842 he dedicated his three string
quartets to Mendelssohn, and in the 'Albumftir die Jugend' there is a little piano piece
called ' Erinnerung,' dated Nov. 4, 1847, whichshows with eloquent simplicity how deeply hefelt the early death of his friend. It is well
known how he would be moved out of his quiet
stillness if he heard any disparaging expression
used of Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn, on the
contrary, at first only saw in Schumann the
man of letters and the art -critic. Like mostproductive musicians, he had a dislike to suchmen as a class, however much he might love
and value single representatives, as was really
the case with regard to Schumann. Fromthis point of view must be regarded the expres-
sions which he makes use of now and then in
letters concerning Schumann as an author.
(See Mendelssohn's Briefe, ii. 116 ; Lady Wal-lace's translation, ii. 97 ; ' and HUler's 'Felix
Menddssohn Bartholdy, Cologne, 1878, p. 64.)
If they sound somewhat disparaging, we mustremember that it is not the personal Mendels-
sohn speaking against the personal Schumann,but rather the creative artist speaking against
the critic, always in natural opposition to
him. Indeed it is obviously impossible to
take such remarks in a disadvantageous sense,
as Schumann quite agreed with Mendelssohn
on the subject of criticism. One passage in
his writings is especially remarkable in this
respect. He is speaking of Chopin's piano-
forte concerto, and Florestan exclaims, ' Whatis a whole year of a musical paper compared
to a concerto by Chopin ? What is a magister's
rage compared to the poetic frenzy ? Whatare ten complimentary addresses to the editor
compared to the Adagio in the second Con-
certo ? And believe me, Davidites, I should
not think you worth the trouble of talking
to, did I not believe you capable of compos-
ing such works as those you write about,
with the exception of a few like this concerto.
Away with your musical journals ! It should
be the highest endeavour of a just critic to
render himself wholly unnecessary ; the best
discourse on music is silence. Why write about
Chopin ? Why not create at first hand—play,
write, and compose ?' (CfesammeUe Schriften, i.
276 ; Engl, trans, in Music amd Musicians,
series i. p. 205.) True, this impassioned outburst
has to be moderated by Eusebius. But consider
the significance of Schumann's writing thus in
1 HaTdly recognisable, owing to Die mvHkalUcM Zeitwng (Sehn-
mann'a paper) being rendered ' The nmeical papers.
'
his own journal about the critic's vocation ! It
plainly shows that he only took it up as anartist, and occasionally despised it. But with
regard to Schumann's place in art, Mendelssohndid not, at that time at all events, consider it
a very high one, and he was not alone in this
opinion. It was shared, for example, by Spohrand Hauptmann. In Mendelssohn's published
letters there is no verdict whatever on Schu-
mann's music. The fact, however, remains that
in Schumann's earlier pianoforte works he felt
that the power or the desire for expression in
the greater forms was wanting, and this he said in
conversation. He soon had reason to change his
opinion, and afterwards expressed warm interest
in his friend's compositions. Whether he ever
quite entered into the individualities of Schu-
mann's music may well be doubted ; theirnatures
were too dissimDar. To a certain extent the Ger-
man nation has recovered from one mistake in
judgment ; the tendency to elevate Schumannabove Mendelssohn was for a very long time
unmistakable. Latterly their verdict hasbecomemore just, and the two are now recognised as
composers of equal greatness.
Schumann's constant intimacy in Wieck's
house had resulted in a tender attachment to
his daughter Clara, now grown up. It was in
the latter part of 1835 that this first found
any definite expression. His regard was reci-
procated, and in September 1837 he preferred his
suit formally to her father. ^ Wieck, however,
did not favour it;
possibly he entertained
loftier hopes for his gifted daughter. At anyrate he was of opinion that Schumann's meansand prospects were too vague and uncertain to
warrant his setting up a home of his own.
Schumann seems to have acknowledged the
justice of this hesitation, for in 1838 he madestrenuous efforts to find a new and wider sphere
of work. With the full consent of Clara Wieckhe decided on settling in Vienna, and bringing
out his musical periodical in that city. Theglory of a great epoch still cast a light over
the musical life of the Austrian capital—the
epoch when Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,
and Schubert were living and working there.
In point of fact, all genuine music had vanished
even during Beethoven's lifetime, and had given
way to a trivial and superficial taste. Rossini
and his followers were paramount in opera;
in orchestral music there were the waltzes of
Strauss and Lanner ; and in vocal music the
feeble sentimentalities of Proch and his fellow-
composers. So far as solo-playing was concerned,
the fourth decade of the century saw it at its
highest pitch of executive brilliancy, and its
lowest of purpose and feeling—indeed it maybe comprehensively designated as the epoch of
Thalberg. Thus Schumann would have found
in Vienna ample opportunity for doing good
2 [These datee are now finally settled by Litsniann's Clara Schv^mann, vol. i. p. 123, etc]
356 1838— SCHUMANN -1840
work, for the Vienneae public was still as ever
the most responsive in the world, and one to
justify sanguine hopes. Schumann effected his
move with the assistance of Professor JosephFischhof, his colleague in the paper ; settling
himself in October 1 83 8 in the Schbnlaterngasse,
No. 679. Oswald Lorenz edited the Zeitschrift
as Schumann's deputy, and for a time it wasstill to be issued in Leipzig. Schumann hopedto be able to bring it out in Vienna by January1839, and made eveiy effort to obtain theprompt permission of the authorities, as well
as the support of influential persons for himselfand his journal. But the consent of thecensor's office and the police were long with-
held ; and he was required to secure the co-
operation of an Austrian publisher, in itself a
great difficulty. It is hard to believe that in
the great city of Vienna no strictly musical
newspaper then existed, and that a small
catalogue, iiieAllgemeiTie musiJcalische Anzeiger,
published weekly by Tobias Haslinger, andalmost exclusively devoted to the business
interests of his firm, was the only publication
which could pretend to the name. But the
publishers were either too indolent or too timid
to attempt any new enterpiise, and sought to
throw impediments in Schumann's way.
His courage and hopefulness were soon muchreduced. The superficially kind welcome he
met everywhere could not conceal the petty
strife of coteries, the party spirit and gossip of
a society which might have been provincial.
The public, though keenly alive to music, was
devoid of all critical taste. ' He could not get
on with these people, ' he writes to Zuccalmaglio
as early as Oct. 19, 1838 ; their utter insipidity
was at times too much for him, and while hehad hoped that on its appearance in Viennathe Zeitschrift would have received a fresh
impulse, and become a medium of intercourse
between North and South, he was forced as
early as December to say :' The paper is
evidently falling off, though it must be pub-
lished here ; this vexes me much.' StemdaleBennett, who was residing in Leipzig during
1837-38, and who, Schumann hoped, wouldsettle with him in Vienna, was obliged to
relinquish his intention ; and in Vienna itself
he sought in vain for an artist after his ownheart, ' one who should not merely play toler-
ably well on one or two instruments, but whoshould be a whole man, and understandShakespeare and Jean Paul.' At the sametime he did not abandon the scheme of makinga wide and influential circle of activity for
himself ; he was unwilling to return to Leipzig,
and when in March 1839 he made up his mindto do so, after trying in vain to carry on the
journal in Vienna, it was with the intention of
remaining there but a short time. He indulged
in a dream of going to England never to return !
What the anticipations could have been that
led him to cherish such an idea we know not;
perhaps his friendship for Bennett may have
led to it ; but, in point of fact, he never set
foot on English ground.
As far, therefore, as making a home for
himself went, his half-year's stay in Vienna was
without result. But without doubt Schumannreceived impulses and incitements towards
further progress as a, musician through his
acquaintance with Vienna life. A work which
is to be referred directly to this influence is
the ' Faschingsschwank aus Wien ' (op. 26,
pijblished by Spina in 1841). In the first
movement, which seems to depict various
scenes of a masquerade, there springs up quite
unnoticed the melody of the ' Marseillaise ' (p.
7, bar 40, etc. ; Pauer's edition, vol. iiL p. 596,
1. 1), at that time strictly forbidden in Vienna.
Schumann, who had been much worried by the
government officials on account of his news-
paper, took this opportunity of playing off a
good-tempered joke upon them.
It was very natural that, with his enthusiastic <
admiration for Schubert, he should take pains
to follow out the traces of that master, whohad now been dead just ten years. He visited
the Wahring cemetery, where Schubert is
buried, divided by a few intervening graves
from Beethoven. On the tomb of the latter a
steel pen was lying ; this Schumann took posses-
sion of, and being always fond of symbolical
associations and mystic connections, used onvery special occasions. With it he wi'ote his
Symphony in Bb (op. 38), and the notice of
Schubert's C major Symphony, which is found
in the Zeitschrift for 1840.^ And here weencounter one of the chief benefits whichSchumann received from his stay in Vienna.
He visited Franz Schubert's brother Ferdinand,
who showed him the artistic remains of his too
early lost brother, and among them the score
of the major Symphony. This he had com-
posed in March 1828, but never lived to hear
it performed entire, and no one had since cared
to -take any trouble about it. Schumannarranged for the score to be sent to Leipzig,
and there on March 21, 1839, it was performed
for the first time under Mendelssohn's direction.
Its success was very striking, and was of great
influence on the more thorough and widespread
appreciation of Schubert's genius. Schumannretained pleasant memories of Vienna through-
out his life, in spite of the little notice heattracted on this occasion, and the meagresuccess of a concert consisting of his own works,
which he gave with his wife on a subsequent
visit in the winter of 1846. In the summerof 1847 he even wished to apply for a vacantpost on the board of direction at the Conserva-
torium, but when the year 1848 came, he wasextremely glad that the plan had come to
nothing.1 See also the OetcmvmeUe achriftem, i]i, 195.
1839- SCHUMANN -1840 357
At the beginning of April 1839 Schumannreturned to his old life in Leipzig. He devotedhimself with new zest to the interests of the
journal, and delighted in once more beingassociated with prominent and sympatheticmusicians. In the summer he paid a short
visit to Berlin, which pleased and interested
him from its contrast to Vienna.
Unfortunately Wieok's opinion as to the
match between Schumann and his daughterremained unchanged, and his opposition to it
became even stronger and more firmly rooted.
Since persuasion was unavailing, Schumannwas forced to call in the assistance of the law,
and Wieck had to account for his refusal in
court. The case dragged on for a whole year,
but the final result was that Wieck's objections
to the marriage were pronounced to be trivial
and without foundation. A sensitive nature
such as Schumann's must have been deeply
pained by these difficulties, and the long-delayed
decision must have kept him in disastrous sus-
pense. His letters show signs of this. Forthe rest, his outward circumstances had so
much improved, that he could easily afford to
make a home without the necessity of such a
round of work as he had attempted in Vienna.
'"We are young,' he writes on Feb. 19, 1840,' and have hands, strength, and reputation
;
and I have a little property that brings in
500 thalers a year. The profits of the paper
amount to as much again, and I shall get well
paid for my compositions. Tell me now if
there can be real cause for fear.' One thing
alone made him pause for a time. His bride-
elect was decorated with different titles of
honour from the courts at which she had played
in her concert-tours. He himself had, it is
true, been latterly made a member of several
musical societies, but that was not enough.
In the beginning of 1840 he executed a scheme
which he had cherished since 1838, and applied
to the university of Jena for the title of Doctor
of Philosophy. Several cases in which the
German universities had granted the doctor's
diploma to musicians had lately come under
Schumann's notice ; for instance the university
of Leipzig had given the honorary degree to
Marschner in 1836, and to Mendelssohn in
1836, and these may have suggested the idea
to him. Schumann received the desired diploma
on February 24, 1840. As he had wished, the
reason assigned for its bestowal is his well-
known activity not only as a critical and
sesthetie writer, but as a creative musician.
At last, after a year of suspense, doubts, and
disagreements, the marriage of Robert Schu-
mann with Clara Wieck took place on Sept.
12, 1840, in the church of Schbnefeld, near
Leipzig.
The ' Davidsbiindlertanze,' previously men-
tioned, bore on the title-page of the first edition
an old verse
—
In all und jeder ZeitVerkniipft fiich Lust und Leid :
Bleibt tromm in Lust, und seydBeim Leid mit Muth bereit
;
And when we observe that the two first bars of
the first piece are borrowed from a composition
by Clara Wieck (op. 6, No. 5), we understandthe allusion. Schumann himself admits that
his compositions for the piano written duringthe period of his courtship reveal much of his
personal experience and feelings, and his creative
work in 1840 is of a very striking character.
Up to this time, with the exception of the
Symphony in G minor, which has remainedunknown, he had written only for the piano ;
now he suddenly threw himself into vocal
composition, and the stream of his invention
rushed at once into this new channel with suchforce that in that single year he wrote aboveone hundred songs. Nor was it in numberalone, but in intrinsic value also, that in this
department the work of this year was the mostremarkable of all Schumann's life. It is not
improbable that his stay in Vienna had someshare in this sudden rush into song, and in
opening Schumann's mind to the charms of
pure melody. But still, when we look throughthe words of his songs, it is clear that here
more than anywhere, love was the prompter—love that had endured so long a struggle,
and at last attained the goal of its desires.
This is confirmed by the ' Myrthen ' (op. 25),
which he dedicated to the lady of his choice,
and the twelve songs from Eiickert's Liebes-
fruhling (op. 37), which were written con-
jointly by the two lovers. ' I am now writing
nothing but songs great and small,' he says to
a friend on Feb. 19, 1840 ; 'I can hardly tell
you how delightful it is to write for the voice
as compared with instrumental composition,
and what a stir and tumult I feel within mewhen I sit down to it. I have brought forth
quite new things in this line.' With the close
of 1840 he felt that he had worked out the
vein of expression in the form of song withpianoforte accompaniment, almost to perfection.
Some one expressed a hope that after such a,
beginning a promising future lay before himas a song -writer, but Schumann answered, 'I
cannot venture to promise that I shall produce
anything further in the way of songs, and I
am satisfied with what I have done.' And hewas right in his firm opinion as to the peculiar
character of this form of music. 'In youressay on song-writing,' he says to a colleague
in the Zeitschrift, ' it has somewhat distressed
me that you should have placed me in the
second rank. I do not ask to stand in the
first, but I think I have some pretensions to a
place of rny own.'
As far as anything human can be, the marriage
was perfectly happy. Besides their genius, bothhusband and wife had simple domestic tastes,
and were strong enough to bear the admiration
358 1840— SCHUMANN -1843
ol' the world without becoming egotistical. Theylived for one another, and for their children.
He created and wrote for his wife, and in ac-
cordance with her temperament ; while she
looked upon it as her highest privilege to give
to the world the most perfect interpretation of
his works, or at least to stand as mediatrixbetween him and his audience, and to ward off
all disturbing or injurious impressions from his
sensitive soul, which day by day became moreand more irritable. Now that he found perfect
contentment in his domestic relations, he with-
drew more than ever from intercourse withothers, and devoted himself exclusively to his
family and his work. The deep joy of his mar-ried life produced the direct result of a mightyadvance in his artistic progress. Schumann'smost beautiful works in the larger forms date
almost exclusively from the years 1841 to 1845.
In 1841 he turned his attention to the Sym-phony, as he had done in the previous year to
the Song, and composed, in this year alone, nofewer than three symphonic works. The BbSymphony (op. 38) was performed as early as
March 31, 1841, at a concert given by Olara
Schumann in the Gewandhaus at Leipzig.
Mendelssohn conducted it, and performed the
task with so much zeal and care as truly to
delight his friend. The other two orchestral
works were given at a concert on Deo. 6 of the
same year, but did not meet with so muchsuccess as.the former one. Schumann thoughtthat the two together were too much at once
;
and theyhad not the advantageof Mendelssohn's
able and careful direction, for he was spending
that winter in Berlin. Schumann put these
two works away for a time, and published the
Bl> Symphony alone. The proper title of one
of these was ' Symphonistische Phantasie,' but
it was performed under the title of ' SecondSymphony,' and, in 1851, the instrumentation
having been revised and completed, was pub-
lished as the 4th Symphony (D minor, op. 120).
The other was brought out under an altered
arrangement, which he made in 1845, with the
title ' Ouverture, Scherzo, et Finale ' (op. 52) ;
and it is said that Schumann originally intended
to call it ' Sinfonietta.' Besides these orchestral
works the first movement of the Pianoforte
Concerto in A minor was written in 1841. It
was at first intended to form an independent
piece with the title of ' Fantasie.' As appears
from a letter of Schumann's to David, it wasonce rehearsed by the Gewandhaus orchestra in
the winter of 1841-42. Schumann did not
write the last two movements which complete
the concerto until 1845.
The year 1842 was devoted to chamber music.
The three string quartets deserve to be first
mentioned, since the date of their composition
can be fixed with the greatest certainty.
Although Schumann was unused to .this style
of writing, he composed the quartets in about
a month—a certain sign that his faculties
were as clear as his imagination was rich. In
the autograph,' after most of the movements
is written the date of their completion. TheAdagio of the first quartet bears the date June
21, 1842 ; the finale was ' finished on St. John's
day, June 24, 1842, in Leipzig.' In the second
quartet the second movement is dated July 2,
1842, and the last July 5, 1842, Leipzig. Thethird is dated as follows : first movement, July
18, second July 20, third July 21, and the
fourth Leipzig, July 22, all of the same year.
Thus the two last movements took the com-
poser only one day each. These quartets,
which are dedicated to Mendelssohn, were at
once taken up by the Leipzig musicians with
great interest. The praise bestowed upon themby Ferdinand David called forth a letter from
Schumann, addressed to him, which merits
quotation, as showing how modest and howideal as an artist Schumann was:— 'Hartel
told me how very kindly you had spoken to
him about my quartets, and, coming from you,
it gratified me exceedingly. But 1 shall have
to do better yet, and I feel, with each newwork, as if I ought to begin all over again from
the beginning.' In the beginning of October
of this year the quartets were played at David's
house ; Hauptmann was present, and expressed
his surpriseat Schumann's talent, which, judging
only from the earlier pianoforte works, he hadfancied not nearly so great. With each newwork Schumann now made more triumphantway—at all events in Leipzig. The same year
witnessed the production of that work to whichhe ohiefiy owes his fame throughout Europe
—
the Quintet for Pianoforte and Strings (op. 44).
The first public performance took place in the
Gewandhaus on Jan. 8, 1843, his wife, to whomit is dedicated, taking the pianoforte part.
Berlioz, who came to Leipzig in 1843, andthere made Schumann's personal acquaintance,
heard the quintet performed, and carried the
fame of it to Paris. Besides the quintet, Schu-
mann wrote, in 1842, the Pianoforte Quartet
(op. 47) and a Pianoforte Trio. The trio,
however, remained unpublished for eight years,
and then appeared as op. 88, under the title
of ' Phantasiestiicke for Pianoforte, Violin, andVioloncello.' The quartet too was laid aside for
a time ; it was first publicly performed on Dec. 8,
1844, by Madame Schumann, in the Gewand-haus, David of course taking the violin part, andNiels W. Gade, who was directing the Gewand-haus concerts that winter, playing the viola.
With the year 1843 came a total change of
style. The first work to appear was op. 46,
the Variations for two pianos, which are nowso popular, and to .which Mendelssohn mayhave done some service by introducing them to
the public, in company with Mme. Schumann,on August 19, 1843. The principal work
1 Now in the poflseasion of Herr Raymund Hiirtel, of Leipzig,
1843— SCHUMANN —1846 359
of the year, however, was 'Paradise and the
Peri,' a grand composition for solo-voices, chorus,
and orchestra, to a text adapted from Moore's' Lalla Rookh.' The enthusiasm created bythis work at its first performance (Deo. 4, 1843),conducted by the composer himself, was so great
that it had to be repeated a week afterwards,
on Dec. 11, and on the 23rd of the same monthit was performed in the Opera House at Dresden.
It will be easily believed that from this timeSchumann's fame was firmly established in
Germany, although it took twenty years moreto make his work widely and actually popular.
Having been so fortunate in his first attemptin a branch of art hitherto untried by him, hefelt induced to undertake another work of the
same kind, and in 1844 began writing the
second of his two most important choral works,
namely, the music to Goethe's 'Faust.' Forsome time, however, the work consisted only of
four numbers. His uninterrupted labours hadso affected his health, that in this year he wasobliged for a time to forego all exertion of the
kind.
The first four years of his married life were
passed in profound retirement, but very rarely
interrupted. In the beginning of 1842 he ac-
companied his wife on a concert-tour to Ham-burg, where the Bb Symphony was performed.
Madame Schumann then proceeded alone to
Copenhagen, while her husband returned to his
quiet retreat at Leipzig. In the summer of the
same year the two artists made an excursion
into Bohemia, and at Konigswart were presented
to Prince Metternich, who invited them to
Vienna. Schumann at first took some pleasure
in these tours, but soon, forgot it in the peace
and comfort of domestic life, and it cost his wife
great trouble to induce him to make a longer
journey to Russia inthe beginning of 1844.
Indeed she only succeeded by declaring that she
would make the tour alone if he would not
leave home. ' How unwilling I am to move out
of my quiet round,' he wrote to a friend, ' you
must not expect me to tell you. I cannot
think of it without the greatest annoyance.'
However, he made up his mind to it, and they
started on Jan. 26. His wife gave concerts in
Mitau, Riga, Petersburg, and Moscow ; and the
enthusiasm with which she was everywhere re-
ceived attracted fresh attention to Schumann's
works, the constant aim of her noble endeavours.
Schumann himself, when once he had parted
from home, found much to enjoy in a journey
which was so decidedly and even brilliantly suc-
cessful. At St. Petersburg he was received with
undiminished cordiality by his old friend Hen-
selt, who had made himself a new home there.
At a soirfe at Prince Oldenburg's Henselt played
with Mme. Schumann her husband's Varia-
tions for two pianos. The Bb Symphony was
also performed under Schumann's direction
at a soiree given by the Counts Joseph and
Michael Wielhorsky, highly esteemed musical
connoisseurs ; and it is evident that the dedica-
tion of Schumann's PF. Quartet (op. 47) to a
Count Wielhorsky was directly connected with
this visit.
In June they were once more in Leipzig, andso agreeable were the reminiscences of the
journey that Schumann was ready at once witha fresh plan of the same kind—this time for a
visit to England with his wife in the following
year ; not, indeed, as he had once intended,
with a view to permanent residence, but merely
that she might win fresh laurels as " player,
and he make himself known as a composer. Heproposed to conduct parts of ' Paradise and the
Peri ' in London, and anticipated a particular
success for it because the work ' had, as it were,
sprung from English soil, and was one of the
sweetest flowers of English verse.' On June 27,
1844, he writes to Moscheles concerning the
project, which had the full support of Mendels-
sohn ; but the scheme ultimately came to
nothing, chiefly because of the refusal of Buxton,
the proprietor of the publishing firm of Ewer &Co., to bring out ' Paradise and the Peri' with
English words. Still Schumann, even long
after, kept his eye steadily fixed on England.
He was delighted at being told that Queen
Victoria often listened to his music, and hadhad the Bb Symphony ' played by the private
band at Windsor, and he contemplated dedica-
ting his Manfred music (op. 1 1 5) to Her Majesty,
but the idea was given up.
Instead of going to England, they at length
paid a visit to Vienna in the winter of 1846.
Here again Schumann conducted his Bb Sym-phony, and his wife played his Pianoforte
Concerto. This was on Jan. 1, 1847. But the
publicwere perfectlyimsympathetic, and justified
an earlier utterance of Schumann's that 'TheViennese are an ignorant people, and know little
of what goes on outside their own city.' Norwere matters much more satisfactory in Berlin,
whither they went from Vienna to conduct' Paradise and the Peri' ; while in Prague, where
they performed on their way, they met with
the warmest reception.
The year 1844 was the last of Schumann'sresidence in Leipzig ; for in October he left the
town where he had lived and worked with short
intervals for fourteen years, and moved to
Dresden. He had given up the editorship
of the Neue ZeMschnft in July, and from April
3, 1843, had held a Professor's chair in the
Conservatorium, founded at Leipzig by Mendels-
sohn's exertions, and opened on that date.
[See vol. ii. p. 668 ; vol. iii. pp. 142, 143.]
He was professor of pianoforte - playing andcomposition ; but his reserved nature waslittle suited ' to the duties of a teacher,
though his name and the example afforded by
I The first pei-formance of the Bb Symphony in England was atthe Fhilharmonic Concert, June 5, 1854.
360 1844— SCHUMANN -1847
his work were no doubt highly advantageousto the infant institution. Schumann had nodisciples, properly speaking, either in the Con-servatorium or as private pupils'. In a letter to
David from Dresden he incidentally mentionsCarl Ritter as having instruction from him, andas having previously been a pupil of Hiller's
;
and hewrites toHiller that he has brought youngRitter on a little. But what the style of Schu-mann's teaching may have been cannot be told
;
and a single exception only proves the rule.
The move to Dresden seems to have beenchiefly on account of Schumann's suffering
condition. His nervous affection renderedchange of scene absolutely necessary to divert
his thoughts. He had overworked himself into
a kind of surfeit of music, so much so that his
medical attendant forbade his continually hear-
ing it. In the musical world of Leipzig sucha prohibition could not be strictly obeyed, butat Dresden it was quite different. 'Here,'
he writes to David on Nov. 25, 1844, 'one canget back the old lost longing for music, there
is so little to hear ! It just suits my condition,
for I still suffer very much from my nerves, andeverything affects and exhausts me directly.'
Accordingly he at first lived in Dresden in the
strictest seclusion. A friend sought him out
there and found him so changed that he enter-
tained grave fears for his life. On several
occasions he tried sea-bathing, but it was longbefore his health can be said to have radically
improved. In February 1846, after a slight im-
provement, he again became very unwell, as hedid also in the summer of the following year. Heobserved that he was unable to remember the
melodies that occurred to him, when composing;
the effort of invention fatiguing his mind to
such a degree as to impair his memory. Assoon as a lasting improvement took place in
his health, he again devoted himself wholly
to composition. He was now attracted morepowerfully than before to complicated contra-
puntal forms. The ' Studies ' and ' Sketches
'
for the pedal-piano (opp. 56 and 58), the six
fugues on the name of ' Bach ' (op. 60) and the
four piano fugues (op. 72), owe their existence
to this attraction. The greatest work of the
years 1845-46, however, was the C major Sym-phony (op. 61), which Mendelssohn produced
at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Nov. 5, 1846.
Slight intercourse with a few congenial spirits
was now gradually resumed. Among those
whom he saw was the widow of C. M. v. Weber,whose fine musical feeling was highly valued bySchumann. The first year in Dresden was spent
with Ferdinand Hiller, who had been living
there since the winter of 1 844. Their intercourse
gradually grew into a lively and lasting intimacy.
"When Hiller was getting up subscription con-
certs in the autumn of 1845, Schumann took
an active share in the undertaking. WithRichard Wagner, too, then Capellmeister at
Dresden, he was on friendly terms. He was
much interested in the opera of ' Tannhauser
'
and heard it often, expressing his opinion of it
in terms of great though not unqualified praise.
But the natures of the two musicians differed too
widely to allow of any real sympathy between
them. Wagner was always lively, versatile, and
talkative, while Schumann's former silence and
reserve had increased since his illness, and even
intimate friends, like Mosoheles and Lipinski,
had to lament that conversation with him was
now scarcely possible.
At the end of Schumann's collected works
we find a Theaterbiichlevn (1847-50), in which
are given short notes of the impressions madeupon him by certain operas. From this welearn that in 1847 he went comparatively often
to the theatre ; the reason being that at that
time he himself was composing an opera. Hehad long cherished the idea. So early as
Sept. 1, 1842, he writes, 'Do you know whatis my morning and evening prayer as an artist ?
Gertnan Opera. There is a field for work.'
He concludes a critique of an opera by Heinrich
Esser in the number of the ZeUschrift for
September 1842 with these significant words—'It is high time that German composers
should give the lie to the reproach that has
long lain on them of having been so craven as
to leave the field in possession of the Italians
and French. But under this head there is a
word to be said to the German poets also.' In
1844 he composed a chorus and an aria for anopera on Byron's Corsair. The work, however,
went no farther, and the two pieces still remain
unpublished. He also corresponded with his
friend Zuccabnaglio as to the subject for anopera, which he wished to find ready on his
return from Russia ; and made notes on morethan twenty different subjects of all kinds,
periods, and nationalities ; but none of these
were found suitable, and circumstances led to
tlie abandonment of the project. At length,
in 1847, he decided on the legend of St.
Genevieve. The two versions of the story
contained in the tragedies of Tieck and Hebbel(principally that of Hebbel) were to serve as
the basis of the text. The treatment of the
words he persuaded Robert Reinick, the poet,
who had been living in Dresden since 1844, to
undertake. Reinick, however, failed to satisfy
him, and Hebbel, who came to Dresden at the
end of July 1847, could not say that he thought
it a satisfactory text, though he declined to
assist in remedying the deficiencies and bringing
it into the desired form. This, however, wasfrom no lack of interest in Schumann himself.
On the contrary Hebbel always preserved the
highest esteem for him, and subsequently
dedicated to him his drama of Michel Angela,
accepting in return from Schumann the dedica-
tion of his ' Nachtlied ' (op. 108). But it wasrepugnant to him to see his work mutilated in
1848- SCHUMANN —1850 361
the way which Schumann considered necessaryfor an opera. The composer was at last obligedto trust to his own poetic powers, and con-struct a, text himself from those already men-tioned.
By August 1848 the music for the opera wasso far complete that Schumann thought hemight take steps for its performance. His first
thought was of the theatre at Leipzig, wherehe knew that he was most warmly remembered."Wirsing was at that time the director, Julius
Kietz the conductor, and the opera was to havebeen brought out in the spring of 1849, bxit it
came to nothing. In June, when the prepara-
tions were to have begun, Schumann wasdetained by domestic circumstances, and therest of the year slipped away with constant
evasions and promises on the part of the
director of the theatre. Even the promise,
'on his honour,' that the opera should beperformed at the end of February 1850, at
latest, was not kept. And so in this, his veryfirst attempt at dramatic work, Schumannmade acquaintance with the shady side of
theatrical management in a way which musthave disgusted his upright and honourable
spirit. In his indignation, he would havemade the dii-ector's breach of faith public, byinvoking the aid of the law ; but his Leipzig
friends were happily able to dissuade him fromthis course. At last, on June 25, 1850, the
fijTst representation of ' Genoveva ' actually took
place under Schumann's own direction. Butthe time was unfavourable. 'Who,' he writes
to Dr. Hermann Hartel, ' goes to the theatre
in May or June, and not rather into the woods ?'
However, the number of his admirers in Leipzig
was great, and the first opera by so famous a
master excited great expectations ; the house
was full, and the reception by the public,
though not enthusiastic, was honourable to the
composer. Still, artists and connoisseurs were
tolerably unanimous in thinking that Schumannlacked the special genius for writing opera.
His almost entire exclusion of recitative was
very widely disapproved of. No one but the
venerable Spohr, who had attended many of
the rehearsals, gave a really favourable verdict
upon the work. In his last opera, 'The
Crusaders,' Spohr himself had adopted similar
methods of making the music follow the plot
closely without ever coming to a standstill,
and he was naturally delighted to find the
same in Schumann's work. After three repre-
sentations (June 25, 28, 30) 'Genoveva' was
laid aside for the time. Schumann, already
vexed by the tedious postponements of the
first performance, and disappointed by the cold
reception of the work, was greatly annoyed by
the discussions in the public prints, especially
by a critique from Dr. E. Kruger, one of the
collaborateurs in the Neue Zeitschrift. A letter
from Schumann to Kruger, in stronger terms
than might have been expected from him, putan end for ever to their acquaintance.
Schumann derived far more gratification
from the reception of his music to ' Faust.
'
In 1848 he completed the portion he hadoriginally intended to write first, viz. the
salvation of Faust, which forms the end of thesecond part of Goethe's poem, and the music of
which is called the ' third part.' On June 25,
1848, the first performance took place amonga limited circle of friends, upon whom it madea deep impression. The most cultivated por-
tion of the audience was of opinion that themusic made the meaning of the words clear for
the first time, so deeply imbued was the com-poser with the poet's inmost spirit. As the
100th anniversary of Goethe's birthday wasapproaching (August 28, 1849) it was decidedto give a festival concert in Dresden, at whichthis ' Faust ' music and Mendelssohn's ' Wal-purgisnacht' should form the programme.When the Leipzig people heard of this inten-
tion, they would not be behind Dresden, andalso got up a performance of the same workson August 29. In Weimar too the ' Faust
'
music was performed for the same festivity.
Schumann was exceedingly delighted that his
work had been employed for so special anoccasion. He writes to Dr. Hartel : ' 1 should
like to have Faust's cloak, and be able to be
everywhere at once, that I might hear it.' InDresden the success of the work was very
considerable, but it made less impression at itis
first performance in Leipzig. Schumann took
this quite calmly. 'I hear different accounts,'
says he in a letter, ' of the impression producedby my scenes from "Faust" ; some seem to havebeen affected, while upon others it made nodefinite impression. This is what I expected.
Perhaps an opportunity may occur in the winter
for a repetition of the work, when it is possible
that I may add some other scenes.' Thisrepetition, however, did not take place in Schu-
mann's lifetime. He fulfilled his scheme of
adding several scenes ; and in 1853 prefixed
an overture to the whole work, which wasdivided into three parts. It was not published
complete until two years after his death.
In the meantime, Schumann's health hadagain improved, as was evident from his aug-
mented creative activity. Indeed his eager
desire for work increased in a way which gaverise to great apprehensions. In the year 1849alone he produced thirty works, most of themof considerable extent. It had never seemed so
easy to him to create ideas and bring them into
shape. He composed as he walked or stood,
and could not be distracted, even by the mostdisturbing circumstances. Thus he wrote Mig-non's song ' Kennst du das Land ' at Kreischa,
near Dresden, in the midst of a group of his
noisy children. And in a restaurant near the
post-oifioe, much frequented by the artistic
1848- SCHUMANN —1850
society of Dresden, where he used to drink his
beer in the evening, he would usually sit alone,
with his back lo the company and his face to
the wall, whistling softly to himself, and de-
veloping his musical ideas all the time. Nopreference for any particular form of art can betraced in Schumann's work at this time. Piano-forte works and chamber trios, songs and vocalduets, choruses, choral works with orchestra,
ooncertos.with orchestra, compositions for horn,clarinet, oboe, violoncello, or violin, with piano-forte accompaniment, even melodramatic music—all these thronged as it were out of his imagi-nation in wild and strange succession. Amongall the beautiful and important works producedat this time, the music to Byron's Manfreddeserves especial mention. The first stage per-
formance of it was given by Franz Liszt in
Weimar on June 13, 1852. For that occasion
the drama was adapted for the stage by Schu-mann himself, in an arrangement which is
printed as a preface to the score of the work,.The first performance of the music at a concert
took place at Leipzig on March 24, 1859.
Dresden was Schumann's place of residence
until 1850. In the latter years of his stay
there his outward life was more active thanbefore. No journeys of note were made, it is
true, with the exception of those to Viennaand Berlin already mentioned, and a longer
expedition undertaken in 1850 to Bremen andHamburg, where many concerts were given.
He avoided the passing disturbance occasioned
by the Dresden insurrection of 1849, by leaving
the town with his family. Though no revolu-
tionary, like Kiuhard Wagner, scarcely even a
politician, Schumann loved individual liberty
and wished others to enjoy it also. But whatgave a different aspect to his life as a musician
in the last years of his stay in Dresden, washis occupation as a conductor. FerdinandHillertad conducted a choral society for men's
voices ; and when he left Dresden to go to
Diisseldorf as municipal director of music,
Schumann succeeded him in his post. Heconducted the society for some time with great
interest, and was glad to find that his capacity
for conducting was not so small as he h2id
generally fancied it to be. He was even induced
to write a few works for male chorus. Three
songs ofWar and Liberty (Kriegs- und Freiheits-
lieder, op. 62) and seven songs in canon-form,
to words by Buokert (op. 65), were written in
1847, and a grand motet for double chorus of
men's voices (op. 93) in 1849. But a nature
like Schumann's could not thrive in the atmo-sphere of a German singing-club. He was in
all respects too refined for the tone of vulgar
comfort, and often even of low sentimentality,
which pervades these assemblies, and they could
not but be irksome to him. 'I felt myself,'
he says, in a letter to Hiller written on April 10,
1849, after his withdrawal, 'out ofmy element
;
they were such nice (hiibsch) people.' This is
even noticeable in his compositions for male
chorus ; they are not of the right kind, and
have in consequence never been much sung.
Of greater artistic importance was a society of
mixed voices which was constituted in January
1848, and of which Schumann was asked to
take the lead. It was not very large—in 1849
it numbered only sixty or seventy members
—
but these were eflicient, and Schumann was
able 'to perform correctly any music he liked
with pleasure and delight.' It was this society
that gave the first performance of the third
part of 'Faust' in June 1848, at a private
party ; Schumann was induced to write manynew compositions for them, and they did muchservice in promoting a knowledge of his music
in Dresden by two performances of 'Paradise
and the Peri' on Jan. 5 and 12, 1860. Theyeven succeeded in drawing him into social
amusements. In August 1848 a general ex-
cursion was arranged, in which Schumann took
what was, for him, a lively interest.
That Schumann, after so successful abeginning
in the art of conducting, considered himself
fitted to undertake the direction of performances
on a larger scale, is evident from the following
circumstance. After Mendelssohn's death the
Gewandhaus concerts were conducted by Julius
Rietz, who until 1847 had been at work in
Diisseldorf. In the summer of 1849 a report
reached Dresden that Kietz was going to suc-
ceed 0. Nicolai as royal Capellmeister at Berlin.
Schumann thereupon applied for the post of
concert director at the Gewandhaus. Dr. Her-mann Hartel was to be the medium of com-munication, and Schumann, with a well-founded
expectation that the choice would fall uponhim, gave himself up for a time with great
pleasure to the idea of becoming the successor
of the honoured Mendelssohn. ' It would give
me great pleasure,' he wrote, ' if the thing cameto pass. I long for regular duty, and thoughI can never forget the last few years, during
which I have lived exclusively as a composer,
and know that so productive and happy a time
may perhaps never be mine again, yet I feel
impelled towards a life of active work, and myhighest endeavour would be to keep up the
renown which the institution has so long en-
joyed.' This wish was not realised, for Eietz
remained in Leipzig. But Schumann's desire
for a more extended field of work as a conductor
was to be satisfied in another way in the follow-
ing year.
In 1850 Hiller gave up his post in Diisseldorf
to obey a call to Cologne as Capellmeister to
that city. He suggested that Schumann should
be his successor, and opened negotiations withhim. Some efforts were made to keep himin Dresden and to obtain his appointmentas Capellmeister to the King of Saxony ; butthe attempt was unsuccessful, and Schumann
1850 SCHUMANN 1850 363
accepted the directorship at Diisseldorf thatsummer, though he left his native place withdeep regret, and not without some suspicions
as to the condition of music in Diisseldorf, of
which he had heard much that was unfavour-able from Mendelssohn and Rietz. In his newpost he had the direction of a vocal union andof an orchestra, and a number of concerts to
conduct in the course of the winter. He arrived
at Diisseldorf, Sept. 2, 1850, and the first
winter concert was in some sort a formal recep-
tion of him, since it consisted of the overture to
'Genoveva, ' some of his songs, and Part I. of
'Paradise and the Peri.' It was under thedirection of Julius Tausch, Schumann him-self appearing as conductor for the first timeon Oct. 24.
He was very well satisfied with his newsphere of work. The vocal resources, as is the
case with all the choirs of the Rhine towns, wereadmirable ; Hiller had cultivated them withspecial zeal, and he and Rietz had left the or-
chestra so well drilled that Schumann, for the
first time in his life, enjoyed the inestimable
advantage of being able to hear everything that
he wrote for the orchestra performed imme-diately. The concerts took up no more of his
time than he was willing to give, and left himample leisure for his own work. Chamber musicwas also attainable, for in J. von Wasielewski
there was a good solo violinist on the spot.
Schumann and his wife were at once welcomedin Diisseldorf with the greatest respect, andevery attention and consideration was shownto them both. It might be said that their
position here was one of special ease, and they
soon formed a delightful circle of intimate
acquaintances. Little as his music was then
known in the Rhine-cities, Schumann's advent
in person seems to have given a strong impulse
to the public feeling for music in Diisseldorf.
The interest in the subscription concerts during
the winter of 1850 was greater than it had ever
been before ; and the board of directors was able,
at the close of the usual series of six concerts,
to undertake a second series of three or four.
At Schumann's instance one of the winter con-
certs was entirely devoted to the works of living
composers, an idea then perfectly novel, and
showing that he had remained faithful to his
desire—manifested long before through the
Zeitschrift—of facilitating the advancement of
young and giftedcomposers. At first Schumann's
direction gave entire satisfaction. If some per-
formances were not perfectly successful, they
were compensated for by others of special
excellence ; and the execution of Beethoven's
A major Symphony at the third concert even
seemed to show that he was a born conductor.
But it was not so in reality ; indeed he was
wholly wanting in the real talent for conducting ;
all who ever saw him conduct or who played
under his direction are agreed on this point.
Irrespective of the fact that conducting for anylength of time tired him out, he had neither
the collectedness and prompt presence of mind,nor the sympathetic faculty, nor the enterprising
dash, without each of which conducting in the
true sense is impossible. He even found a
difficulty in stai'ting at a given Unypo ; nay, hesometimes shrank from giving any initial beat
;
so that some energetic pioneer would beginwithout waiting for the signal, and withoutincurring Schumann's wrath. Besides this,
any thorough practice bit by bit with his or-
chestra, with instructive remarks by the way as
to the mode of execution, was impossible to this
great artist, who in this respect was a striking
contrast to Mendelssohn. He would have a
piece played through, and if it did not answerto his wishes, had it repeated. If it went nobetter the second, or perhaps even a third time,
he would be extremely angry at what he con-
sidered the clumsiness or even the ill-will of the
players ; but detailed remarks he never made.Any one knowing his silent nature and his
instinctive dislike to contact with the outer
world, might certainly have feared irom the
first that he would find gieat difficulty in assert-
ing himself as a director of large masses. Andas years went on his incapacity for conduct-
ing constantly increased, as the issue showed,
with the growth of an illness, which, after
seeming to have been completely overcome in
Dresden, returned in Diisseldorf with increasing
gravity. His genius seemed constantly to shrink
from the outside world into the depths of his
soul. His silence became a universally accepted
fact, and to those who saw liim for the first
time he seemed apathetic. But in fact he wasanything rather than that ; he would let a
visitor talk for a long time on all kinds of
subjects without saying a word, and then whenthe caller rose to leave, 'not to disturb the
master longer,' he would discover that Schu-
mann had followed the one-sided ' conversation
'
with unfailing interest. When sitting -for anhour, as he was accustomed of an evening, withfriends or acquaintances at the restaurant, if
anything was said that touched or pleased himhe would give the speaker a radiant, expressive
glance, but without a word ; and the incessant
creative labours, to which he gave himself up so
long as he was able, are the best proof of tlie rich
vitality which constantly flowed from the deepest
sources of his soul. In the family circle he wasa different man ; there he could be gay andtalkative to a degree that would have surprised
a stranger. He loved his children tenderly, andwas fond of occupying himself with them. Thethree piano sonatas (op. 118) composed for his
daugliters Jnlie, Elise, and Marie" the Album for
beginners (op. 68) ; the Children's Ball (op. 130),
and other pieces, are touching evidence of the
way in which he expressed this feeltng in music.
The first great work of the Diisseldorf period
364 1850— SCHUMANN -1852
was the Eb Symphony (op. 97), marked by the
composer as No. 3, although it is really the fourth
of the published ones, the D minor Symphonypreceding it in order of composition. If we call
the Overture, Scherzo, and Finale (op. 52) a sym-phony too, then the Eb Symphony must rank as
the fifth. It would seem that Schumann hadbegun to work at it before his change of resi-
dence. As soon as he conceived the project of
leaving Saxony for the Rhine, he bethoughthimself of the great musical festival which ever
since 1818 had been held in the lower Ehine*districts, and was inspired by the idea of assisting
at one of these in the capacity of a composer.
He wrote down this great work with its five
movements between Nov. 2 and Deo. 9, 1850.
He has told us that it was intended to conveythe impressions which he received during a visit
to Cologne ; so that its ordinary name of the' Rhenish Symphony ' may be accepted as correct.
It was first performed at Diisseldorf on Feb. 6,
1851, and then at Cologne on Feb. 25, bothtimes under the direction of the composer, butwas coldly received on both occasions.'
Although Schumann had had no pleasant ex-
periences in connection with the opera 'Geno-
veva,' he was not to be deterred from makinganother essay in dramatic composition. In Oct.
1850 he received from RichardPohl, at that time
a student in the Leipzig university, SchiUer's' Bride of Messina,' arranged as an opera libretto.
Schumann could not make up his mind to set it
to music ; but in Deo. 1850 and Jan. 1851 he
wrote an Overture to the ' Braut von Messina
'
(op. 100), which showed how much the material
of the play had interested him, in spite of his
refusal to set it. He inclined to a more cheerful,
or even a comic subject, and Goethe's ' Hermannund Dorothea ' seemed to him appropriate for an
operetta. He consulted several poets concerning
the arrangement, and having made out a scheme
of treatment, wrote the Overture at Christmas
1851 (op. 136). The work, however, progressed
no farther. Hesubsequently turnedhis attention
to Auerbach's ' Dorfgeschichten,' but without
finding any good material, and no second opera
from his pen ever saw the light.
He completed, however, a number of vocal
compositions for the concert-room, in which his
taste for dramatic music had free play. A youngpoet from Chemnitz, Moritz Horn, had sent hima faery poem, which greatly interested him.
After many abbreviations and alterations madeby Horn himself at Schumann's suggestion, ' ThePilgrimage of the Rose ' (Der Rose Pilgerfahrt,
op. 112) was really set to music between April
and July 1851. The work, which both in formand substance resembles ' Paradise and the
Peri,' except that it is treated in a, manner at
once more detailed and more idyllic, had at first
a simple pianoforte accompaniment, but in
1 See this Dtotlonaiy, vol. ill. pp. XTI, 378.^ Its ftvst performance in England was at a Concert of Signer
Anlitl'8, Dec. 4, ISB/i.
November Schumann arranged it for orchestra.
June 1851 is also the date of the composition
of Uhland's ballad ' Der Kbnigssohn ' (op. 1 1 6),
in a semi-dramatic form, to which indeed he
was almost driven by the poem itself. Schumannwas much pleased with his treatment of this
ballad, which he set for soli, chorus, and or-
chestra. In the course of the next two years
he wrote three more works of the same kind :
'Des Sangers Fluch' (op. 139), a ballad of
Uhland's ;'Vom Pagen und der Konigstochter
'
(op. 140), a ballad by Geibel ; and 'Das Glilck
von Edenhair (op. 143), a ballad by Uhland.
In the last two poems he made alterations of
more or less importance, to bring them into
shape for musical setting, but the 'Sangers
Fluch ' had to be entirely remodelled—a difficult
and ungrateful task, which Richard Pohl carried
out after Schumann's own suggestions.
At that time this young man, a thorough art-
enthusiast, kept up a, lively intercourse with
Schumann, both personally and by letter. Theydevised together the plan of a grand oratorio.
Schumann wavered between a biblical and anhistorical subject, thinking at one time of the
Virgin Mary, at another of Ziska or Luther.
His final choice fell upon Luther. He pondered
deeply upon the treatment of his materials. It
was to be an oratorio suitable both for the
church and the concert room, and in its poetical
form as dramatic as possible. In point of musical
treatment he intended the chorus to predomi-
nate, as in Handel's ' Israel in Egypt,' of
which he had given a performance in the
winter of 1850. Moreover, it wsts not to be
complicated and contrapuntal in style, butsimple and popular, so that ' peasant and citizen
alike should understand it.' The more hepondered it the more was he inspired withthe grandeur of the subject, aHhough by nomeans blind to its difficulties. ' It inspires
courage,' he says, 'and also humility.' Hecould not, however, coincide with his poet's
opinion as to the extent of the work, the latter
having formed the idea of a sort of trilogy, in
oratorio form, while Schumann wished the workto be within the limit of one evening's perform-
ance, lasting about two hours and a half. Inthis way the few years of creative activity that
were still granted to him slipped away, and the
oratorio remained unwritten. The impossibility
of satisfying, by the oratorio on Luther, the
inclination for grave and religious music whichbecame ever stronger with increasing years, is
partly the reason of his writing in 1852 a Mass(op. 147), and a Requiem (op. 148). But to
these he was also incited by outward circum-
stances. The inhabitants of Diisseldorf are
mostly Catholics, the organ-lofts in the prin-
cipal churches are too small to hold a large
choir and orchestra, and the regular church-
music was in a bad condition. The choral
society which Schumann conducted was ac-
1851— SCHUMANN —1853 365
customed, as a reward for its labours, to haveseveral concerts of church music, or at least
sacred compositions, every year ; and Schumannwas probably thinking of this custom in his
Mass and his Eequiem, but he was not destined
ever to hear them performed.
In the summer of 1851 he and his family
made a tour in Switzerland, which he had not
yisited since the time of his student-life in
Heidelberg ; on his return he went to Ant-werp, for a competitive performance by the
Belgian ' Mannergesangverein,' on August 17,
at which he had been asked to aid in adjudging
the prizes. Two years later, towards the endof 1853, he and his wife once more visited
the Netherlands, and made a concert -tour
through Holland, meeting with such an enthusi-
astic reception that he could not help saying
that hia music seemed to have struck deeper
root there than in Germany. InMarch 1852theyrevisited Leipzig, where, between the 14th aiid
the 21st, a quantity of his music was performed;
the Manfred overture and the ' Pilgerfahrt der
Rose ' at a public matinee on the 14th ; the Dminor Sonata for pianoforte and violin (op. 121)
in a private circle, on the 15th ; the E|> Sym-phony at a concert at the Gewandhaus on the
18th ; the Pianoforte Trio in G minor (op. 110)
at a chamber concert on the 21st. On Nov.
6, 1851, the overture to the 'Braut von Mes-
sina' was also performed at the Gewandhaus.
The public had thus, during this season, ample
opportunity of becoming acquainted with the
latest works of this inexhaustible composer.
But although he had lived in Leipzig for four-
teen years, and had brought out most of his
compositions there, besides having a circle of
sincerely devoted friends in that city, he could
not on this occasion boast of any great success;
the public received him with respect and esteem,
but with no enthusiasm. But in this respect
Schumann had lived through a variety of ex-
perience ; 'I am accustomed,' he writes to
Pohl, Dec. 7, 1851, when speaking of the recep-
tion of the overture to the ' Braut von Messina,'
' to find that my compositions, particularly the
best and deepest, are not understood by the
public at a first hearing.' Artists, however, had
come to Leipzig from some distance for the
' Schumann -week '; among them Liszt and
Joachim.
In August 1852 there was held in Diisseldorf
a festival of music for men's voices, in which
Schumann assisted as conductor, though, owing
to his health, only to a very limited extent.
He took a more important part at Whitsuntide
1853, when the 31st of the Lower Rhine Festi-
vals was celebrated in Diisseldorf on May 15,
16, and 17. He conducted the music of the
first day, consisting of Handel's 'Messiah'
and of his own Symphony in D minor, which
was exceedingly well received. In the concerts
of the two following days, which were conducted
chiefly by Hiller, two more of Schumann'slarger compositions were performed ; the Piano-
forte Concerto inA minor, and a newly composedFestival Overture with soli and chorus on the' Rheinweinlied ' (op. 123). But although Schu-mann appeared in so brilliant a way as a
composer, and as such was honoured andappreciated in Diisseldorf, yet there was noconcealing the fact that as a conductor he wasinefiBcient. The little talent for conducting
that he showed on his arrival in Diisseldorf,
had disappeared with his departing health.
It was in fact necessary to procure some one to
take his place. An attempt was made after
the first winter concert of the year (Oct. 27,
1853) to induce him to retire for a time fromthe post of his own accord. But this proposal
was badly received. The fact, however, remains,
that from the date just mentioned all the
practices and performances were conducted byJulius Tausch, who thus became Schumann'sreal successor. No doubt the directors of the
society were really in the right ; though perhaps
the form in which Scluraiann's relation to the
society was expressed might have been better
chosen. The master was now taken up with
the idea of leaving Diisseldorf as soon as possible,
and of adopting Vienna, for which he hadpreserved a great affection, as his permanentresidence. But fate had decided otherwise.
The dissatisfaction induced in his mind bythe events of the autumn of 1853 was, however,
mitigated partly by the tour in Holland already
mentioned, and partly by another incident. It
happened that in October a young and wholly
unknown musician arrived, with a letter of intro-
duction from Joachim. Johannes Brahms—for
he it was—immediately excited Schumann'swarmest interest by the genius ofhis playing andthe originality of his compositions. In his early
days he had always been the champion of the
young and aspiring, and now as a maturedartist he took pleasure in smoothing the path
of this gifted youth. Schumann's literary penhad lain at rest for nine years ; he now once
more took it up, for the last time, in order to
say a powerful word for Brahms to the wideworld of art. An article entitled Neue JSahnen
(New Paths) appeared on Oct. 28, 1853, in No.1 8 of that year's Zeitschrift. In this he pointed
to Brahms as the artist whose vocation it wouldbe ' to utter the highest ideal expression of our
time. ' He does not speak of him as a youth or
beginner, but welcomes him into the circle of
Masters as a fully equipped combatant. Whenbefore or since did an artist find such words of
praise for one of his fellows ? It is as though,
having already given so many noble proofs of
sympathetic appreciation, he could not leave the
world without once more, after his long silence,
indelibly stamping the image of hia pure, lofty,
and unenvious artist-nature on the hearts of hia
fellow-men.
366 1853- SCHUMANN -1854
So far as Brahms was concerned, it is true
that this brilliant envoi laid him under a heavydebt of duty, in the necessity of measuring hisproductions by the very highest standard ; andat the time Schumann was supposed to haveattributed to Brahms, as he did to the poetessElisabeth Kulraann, giifts which he did notactually possess. Twenty-eight years havenow [1881] passed and we know that Schu-mann's keen insight did not deceive him, andthat Brahms verified all the expectations formedof him. His intercourse with the young com-poser (then twenty years old), in whom he tookthe widest and most affectionate interest, wasa great pleasure to Schumann.At that time, too, Albert Dietrich (afterwards
Hofcapellmeister at Oldenburg) was staying inDusseldorf, and Schumann proved to the utmostthe truth of what he had written only a fewmonths previously of Kirchner, that he lovedto follow the progress of young men. A sonatafor pianoforte and violin exists in MS. whichSchumann composed during this month (October
1853), in conjunction with Brahms and Dietrich.
Dietrich begins with an allegro in A minor
;
Schumann followswith an intermezzo inF major;Brahms—who signs himself Joha/imes Kreissler
jwnior—swids an allegro (scherzo) in C minor ;
and Schumann winds up the work with a finale
in A minor, ending in A major. The title of
the sonata is worth noting. Joachim wascoming to Dusseldorf to play at the concert of
Oct. 27, so Schumann wrote on the title-page' In anticipation of the arrival of our beloved
and honoured friend Joseph Joachim, this sonata
was written by Robert Schumann, AlbertDietrich, and Johannes Brahms. '
'
This interesting intimacy cannot have con-
tinued long, since in November Schumann wentto Holland with his vrife, and did not return
till Dec. 22. But he met Brahms again in
Hanover in January 1854 at a performance of' Paradise and the Peri,' where he found also
Joachim and Julius Otto Grimm. A circle of
gifted and devoted young artists gathered roundthe master and rejoiced in having him amongthem, little imagining that within a few monthshe would be suddenly snatched from them for
ever.
Schumann's appearance was that of a manwith a good constitution ; his figure was abovethe middle height, full and well-built ; but his
nervous system had always shown extreme ex-
citability, fend even so early as his twenty-fourth
year he suffered from a nervous disorder whichincreased to serious disease. At a still earlier
date he had shown a certain morbid hypertension
of feeling, in connection with his passionate studyof Jean Paul, of whom he wrote, even in his
eighteenth year, that he often drove him to the
verge of madness. Violent shocks of emotion,
1 The HS. was iJD Joachlm'fi iMuession, and he permitted thepublication of the movement by Brahma, which appeared in 1907. .
as for instance the sudden announcement of a
death, or the struggle for the hand of Clara
Wieek, would bring him into a condition of
mortal anguish, and the most terrible state of
bewilderment and helplessness, followed by days
of overwhelming melancholy. A predisposition
to worry himself, an ' ingenuity in clinging to
unhappy ideas,' often embittered the fairest
moments of his Ufe. Gloomy anticipations
darkened his soul ;' I often feel as if I should
not live much longer,' he says in a letter to
Zucoalmaglio of May 18, 1837, 'and I should
like to do a little more work'
; and later, to
Hiller—'man must work while it is yet day.'
The vigour of youth for a time conquered these
melancholy aberrations, and after his marriage
the calm and equable happiness which he found
in his wife for a long time expelled the evil
spirit. It was not till 1844 that he again fell
a prey to serious nervous tension. This wasevidently the result of undue mental strain, andfor a time he was forced to give up all work,
and even the hearing of music, and to with-
draw into perfect solitude at Dresden. His im-
provement was slow and not without relapses;
but in 1849 he felt quite re-established, as wegather from his letters and from the work heaccomplished ; and his condition seems to haveremained satisfactory till about the end of 1851.
Then the symptoms of disease reappeared ; hehad, as usual, been again working without pause
or respite, and even with increased severity ; andwas himself so much alarmed as to seek aremedy. Various eccentricities of conduct be-
trayed even to strangers the state of nervous ex-
citability in which he was. By degrees delusions
grew uponhim, and he fanciedthathe incessantly
heard one particular note, or certain harmonies,or voices whispering words of reproof or en-
couragement. Once in the night he fancied
that the spii-its of Schubert and Mendelssohnbrought him a musical theme, and he got upand noted it down. He was again attacked
by that ' mortal anguish of mind ' of which hehad had former experience, and which left himperfectly distracted. Still, all these symptomswere but temporary, and between- the attacks
Schumann was in full possession of his senses
and self-control. He himself expressed a wishto be placed in an asylum, but meanwhile workedon in his old way. He wrote some variations
for the piano on the theme revealed to him bySchubert and Mendelssohn, but they were his
last work, and remained unfinished. OnFeb. 27,
1854, in the afternoon, in one of his fits of
agony of mind, he left the house unobservedand threw himself from the bridge into theRhine. Some boatmen were on the watch andrescued him, and he was recognised and carried
home. Unmistakable symptoms of insanitynow declared themselves, but after a few daysa peculiar clearness and calmness of mind re-
turned, and with it his irrepressible love of
1854- SCHUMANN —1856 367
work. He completed the variation on which hehad been at work before the great catastrophe.
These last efforts of his wearied genius remainunpublished, but Brahms has used the theme for
a set of 4-hand variations which form one of his
most beautiful and touching works (op. 23), andwhich he has dedicated to Schumann's daughterJulie.
The last two years of Schumann's life werespent in the private asylum of Dr. Richarz at
Endenich near Bonn. His mental disorder de-
veloped into deep melancholy ; at times—as in
the spring of 1855—when for a while he seemedbetter, his outward demeanour was almost the
sameas before. He corresponded with his friends
and received visits, but gradually the pinions of
his soul drooped and fell, and he died in the armsof his wife, July 29, 1856, only forty-six years
of age.
Soon after Schumann's death his musicachieved a popularity in Germany which will
bear comparison with that of the most favourite
of the older masters. When once the peculi-
arities of his style grew familiar, it was realised
that these very peculiarities had their origin in
the deepest feelings of the nation. The desire
of giving outward expression to the love whichwas felt towards him, soon asserted itself moreand more strongly. Schumann was buried at
Bonn, in the churchyard opposite the Sternen-
thor, and it was resolved to erect a monumentto him there. On August 17, 18, and 19, 1873,
a Schumann festival took place at Bonn, con-
sisting entirely of the master's compositions.
The conducting was undertaken by Joachimand Wasielewski, and among the performers
were Madame Schumann, who played her
husband's Pianoforte Concerto, and Stockhansen.
The festival was one of overwhelming interest,
owing to the sympathy taken in it, and the
manner in which that sympathy was displayed.
The proceeds of the concerts were devoted to a
monument to Schumann's memory, which wasexecuted by A. Donndorf of Stuttgart, erected
over the grave, and unveiled on May 2, 1880.
On this, occasion also a, concert took place,
consisting of compositions by Schumann, andBrahms's Violin Concerto (op. 77), conducted
by himself, and played by Joachim.
Schumann^ with his activity both as an author
and as a composer, was a, new phenomenon in
German music. It is true that he had had a
predecessor in this respect in C. M. von Weber,
who also had a distinct gift and vocation for
authorship, and whose collected writings form a
literary monument possessing far more than a
merely personal interest. Still Weber was pre-
vented by circumstances and by his own natural
restlessness from fully developing his literary
talent, while Schumann benefited by the
restraint and discipline of his ten years of
editorship. In. 185.4. he had his Oesammelte
Scfmften iiber Musik und Miisiker published
in four volumes by Wigand in Leipzig, and it
was not long in reaching its second edition,
which appeared in two volumes in 1871. This
collection, however, is not nearly complete,
and the essays it includes have been muchaltered. A full and correct edition of his
writings is still a desideratum.
It must not, however, be imagined that
Schumann's aim as an author was to lay downthe principles on which he worked as a com-poser ; it is indeed hardly possible to contrast
the critical and the productive elements in his
works. His authorship and his musical com-positions were two distinct phases of a creative
nature, and if it was by composition that hesatisfied his purely musical craving it was bywriting that he gave utterance to his poetical
instincts. His essays are for the most part
rather rhapsodies on musical works or poetical
imagery lavished on musical subjects than
criticisms properly speaking; and thecaseswhere
he writes in the negative vein are very rare
exceptions. A high ideal floats before his mind,
and supported by the example of the greatest
masters of the art, his one aim is to introduce
a new and pregnant period of music in contrast
to the shallowness of his own time. Again andagain he speaks of this as the ' poetic phase '
—
and here we must guard against a misunder-
standing. The term pontic music is often used
in antithesis to pure music, to indicate a workbased on a combination of poetry and music
;
as, for instance, a song, which may be conceived
of either as a purely musical composition
founded on the union of definite feelings andideas, or as intended to express the preconceived
emotions and ideas of the poet. But it was not
anything of this kind that Schumann meant to
convey ; he simply regarded poetry as the
, antithesis to prose, just as enthusiasm is the
antithesis to sober dulness, the youthful rhapso-
dist to the Philistine, the artist with his lofty
ideal to the mechanical artisan or the superficial
dilettante. His aim is to bring to birth a living
art, full of purpose and feeling, and he cannot
endure a mere skeleton of forms and phrases.
In this key he pitches his writings on music,
and their purport is always the same. He once
speaks of reviewers and critics under a quaint
simile— 'Music excites the nightingale to love-
songs, the lap-dog to bark.' Nothing could
more accurately represent his own attitude in
writing on music than the first of these images.;
From his point of view a piece of music ought
to rouse in the true critic sympathetic feeling,
he ought to absorb and assimilate its contents,
and then echo them in words—Schumann wasin fact the singing nightingale. Though wemay not feel inclined to apply his other com-
parison to every critic who does not follow in his
steps, we may at least say that the difference
between Schumann's style and that of the
368 SCHUMANN
musical periodicals of his day was as great as
that between a nightingale and a lap-dog.
And how strange and new were the tones
uttered by this poet -critic ! A considerable
resemblance to Jean Paul must be admitted,
particularly in his earlier critiques : the ecstatic
youthful sentiment, the humorous suggestions,
the highly wrought and dazzling phraseology,
are common to both ; but the style is quite
different. Schumann commonly writes in short
and vivid sentences, going straight at his subject
without digressions, and indulging in bold
abbreviations. There is a certain indolence of
genius about him, and yet a sure artistic instinct
throughout. Nor has he a trace of Jean Paul's
sentimental ' luxury of woe,' but we everywherefind, sidfc by side with emotional rhapsody, the
refreshing breeziness of youth and health.
It has already been said that Schumannconnects certain definite characteristics withdifferent feigned names (Florestan, Eusebius,
Baro, etc.), a device which none but a poet could
have hit on. Indeed, it would be a hindrance
to the writing of calm criticism, which musthave a fixed and clearly defined position as its
basis. But it often introduces a varied andeven dramatic liveliness into the discussion,
which is very attractive, and leads to a deeper
consideration of the subject. Schumann, how-ever, could use still more artificial forms in his
critiques. Thus he discusses the first concert
conducted by Mendelssohn at the Gewandhaus,October 1835, in letters addressed by Eusebius
to Chiara in Italy ; and within this frame the
details oiF the concert are gracefully entwined
with ingenious reflections and fanciful ideas
which add brilliance to the picture. On another
occasion, when he was to write about a mass of
dance music, Schumann has recourse to the
following fiction :—the editorof a certain musical
paper gives a historical fancy ball. Composers
are invited, young lady amateurs and their
mothers, music publishers, diplomatists, a few
rich Jewesses, and—of course—the Davids-
biindler ; the dance -programme includes the
music to be criticised, to which the couples whirl
about during the whole evening. Hence arise
all sorts of humorous incidents— satirical,
whimsical, and sentimental outpourings, in
which a criticism of the compositions is broughtin nnperceived. On another occasion, the
Davidsbiindler have met, and the new composi-
tions are played in turns ; during the playing
the rest carry on a variety of amusements whichculminate in a magic lantern, throwing the
figures of a masked ball on the wall, whichFlorestan, standing on the table, explains, while
'Zilia' plays Franz Schubert's 'Deutsche Tanze.'
Anything more vivid, charming, and poetical
than this essay, has never been written onmusic (it is in the Gesam. Schriften, vol. ii. p. 9
;
and is partly translated in Music and Musicians,
vol. i. p. 102) ; a little work of art in itself
!
Once, in reviewing a concert given by Clara
Wieok, he gives us a real poem ('Traumbild,
am 9 September, 1838, Abends,' vol. ii. p. 233).
In this he combines his own tender sentiments
with a skilful characterisation of all that was
peculiar in the performance. For sketching
character -portraits Schumann shows a con-
spicuous talent ; the articles in which he has
characterised Stemdale Bennett, Gade, and
Henselt are unsurpassed by anything since
written concerning these artists. He seems to
have penetrated with the insight of a seer to
the core of their natures, and has set forth his
conclusions in a delicate and picturesque mannerthat no one has succeeded in imitating.
The foundation of Schumann's critiques lay
in kindness ; his fastidious character would
simply have nothing to do with anything badenough to demand energetic reproof. The mostcutting and bitter article he ever wrote was the
famous one on Meyerbeer's ' Huguenots ' (vol.
ii. p. 220 ; translated in Music and Musicians.
vol. i. p. 302). In its violence it has no doubtsomewhat overshot the mark ; but nowhereperhaps do the purity and nobleness of Schu-
mann's artistic views shine forth more clearly
than in this critique and in the one immediately
following on Mendelssohn's 'St. Paul.' It
was the great success of the ' Huguenots ' whichinfused the acid into Schumann's antagonism
;
for when dealing with inoffensive writers hecould wield the weapons of irony and ridi-
cule both lightly and effectively. But he is
most at his ease when giving praise andencouragement ; then words flow so directly
from his heart that his turns of expression
have often quite a magical charm. As anexample we may mention the article on Field's
Seventh Concerto (IMd. vol. i. p. 268 ; Music amdMusicians, vol. i. p. 267). Anything more tender
and full of feeling was never written under the
semblance of a critique than the remarks on »
sonata in minor by Delphine Hill-Handley—formerly Delphine Schauroth {Ibid. i. 92).
Schumann has here, given us a really poetical
masterpiece in its kind, full of intellig^t appre-
ciation of the purport of the work, and giving
covert expression to its maidenly feeling, evenin the style of his discussion ; it must delight
the reader even if he does not know a note of
the composition. Schumann had fresh imageryalways at command, and if in a generally meri-
torious work he found something to blame, hecontrived to do it in the most delicate manner.His amiable temper, his tender heart and his
conspicuous talents for literary work combined,never left him at a loss in such cases for someingenious or whimsical turn. Sometimes, thoughrarely, in his eager sympathy for youthful geniusin difficulty he went too far ; Hermann Hirsch-
bach, for instance, never fulfilled the hopes thatSchumann formed of him ; and even in his
remarks on Berlioz, he at first probably said
KOBERT ALEXANDER SCHUMANN
From a dagucrrotyi'iJ
SCHUMANN 369
more than he would afterwards have main-tained.
In later years Schumann's flowery and poeticvein gave way to a calm and contemplativestyle. His opinions and principles remained as
sound as ever, but they are leas keenly and bril-
liantly expressed than at the earlier period whenhe took peculiar pleasure in turning a flashing
phrase (see Ges. Schriften, vol. i. pp. 27, 208).Still, the practical musician always predomi-nates, and Schumann himself confesses that' the curse of a mere musician often hits
higher than all your ajsthetics ' {Ibid. ii. 246).Here and there, however, we come upon a pro-
found Eesthetio axiom, the value of which is in
no degree diminished by our perception that it
is the result rather of intuition than of anysystematic reflection. It is universally acknow-ledged that by his essay 'on certain corruptpassages in classical works ' (IMd. iv. 59 ;
Music and Musicians, i. 26), Schumann gave areal impetus to the textual criticism of music
;
historical clues and comparisons are frequently
suggested, and though these indications are notfounded on any comprehensive historical know-ledge, on all important subjects they show ahappy instinct for the right conclusion, and are
always worthy of attention.
It may be said of Schumann's literary workin general that it was not calculated to attract
attention merely for the moment, though it did
in fact open up new paths, but that it took the
form of writings which have a high and per-
manent value. They will always hold a foremost
place in the literature of music, and may indeedtake high rank in the literature of art. Foranalytical acumen they are less remarkable.
Schumann cannot be called the Lessing of music,
nor is it by the display of learning that heproduces his effects. It is the union of poetic
talent with musical genius, wide intelligence,
and high culture, that stamps Schumann'swritings with originality, and gives them their
independent value.
Schumann's literary work was connected withanother phase of the musical world of Germany,as new in its way as the twofold development of
his genius—the rise of party feeling. No doubtSchumann gave the first impetus to this move-ment, both by his imaginary ' Davidsbiindler-
sohaft, ' and by that Radical instinct which waspart of his nature. Schumann's principles as anartist were the same which have been professed
and followed by all the greatest German masters ;
what was new in him was the active attempt to
propagate them as principles. So long as he
conducted the Zeitsckrift he could not of course
lend himself to party feeling ; the standard he
had assumed was so high that all who took a
serious view of art were forced to gather round
him. Butthe spirit ofagitationwas inflamed, and
when he retired from the paper other principles
of less general application were put forward. It
VOL. IV
was self-evident that Schumann was the only
contemporary German composer who could stand
side by side with Mendelssohn, and they were
of course compared. It was asserted that in
Mendelssohn form took the precedence of
meaning, while in Schumann meaning pre-
dominated, striving after a new form of utter-
ance. Thus they were put forward as the
representatives of two antagonistic principles of
art, and a Mendelssohn party and a Schumannparty were formed. In point of fact there wasscarcely any trace of such 'an antagonism of
principle between the two composers ; the differ-
ence was really one of idiosyncrasy ; and so,
being grounded more or less on personal feeling,
the parties assumed something of the character
of cliques. The literary Schumannites, having
the command of an organ of their own, had anadvantage over the partisans of Mendelssohn,
who like Mendelssohn himself, would havenothing to do with the press. Leipzig was for a
time the headquarters of the two parties. There,
where Mendelssohn had worked for the delight
and improvement ofthe musical world, it was the
fate of his art to be first exposed to attack anddetraction, which, to the discredit of the Germannation, rapidly spread through wider and wider
circles, and was fated too to proceed first fromthe blind admirers of the very master for whomMendelssohn ever felt the deepest attachmentand respect. That Schumann himself musthave been painfully affected by this spirit is as
clear as that it could only result in hindering
the unprejudiced reception of his works ; andthe process thus begun with Schumann has beencarried on, in a greater degree, in the case of
Wagner.As a composer Schumann started with the
pianoforte, and until the year 1840 wrote
scarcely anything but pianoforte music. Forsome time he used to compose sitting at the
instrument, and continued to do so even until
1839, though he afterwards condemned the
practice (in his Musikalische Haus- und Lebens-
regeln). At all events it had the advantage
of making him write from the first in true
pianoforte style. If ever pianoforte works took
their origin from the innermost nature of the
pianoforte, Schumann's did so most thoroughly.
His mode of treating the instrument is entirely
new. He develops upon it a kind of orchestral
polyphony, and by means of the pedal, of ex-
tended intervals, of peculiar positions of chords,
of contractions of the hands, and so forth, hesucceeds in bringing out of it an undreamt-ofwealth of effects of tone. How deeply andthoroughly Schumann had studied the character
of the instrument may be seen from the detailed
preface to his arrangement of Paganini's caprices
(op. 3). Even in his earliest PF. works henowhere shows any Inclination to the methodof any of the older masters, except in the
variations, op. 1, which betray the influence
2 B
370 SCHUMANN
of the school of Hummel and Moacheles. Butit is evident that he knew all that others haddone, and the time and attention devoted in
his writings to works of technical pianoforte
study were no doubt deliberately given. Not-withstanding this his compositions are scarcely
ever written in the bravura style ; for heseldom cared to clothe his ideas in mere outwardbrilliancy. Sometimes one is constrained to
wonder at his reluctance to use the higher
and lower registers of the pianoforte.
As is the case v^th the technical treatmentof the piano, so it is from the beginning withthe substance and form of his compositions.
Few among the great German masters showsuch striking originality from their very first
compositions. , In the whole range of Schumann'sworks there is scarcely a trace of any other
musician. At the outset of his course as a
composer he preferred to xise the concise danceor song-form, making up his longer pieces froma number of these smaller forms set together
as in a mosaic, instead of at once casting his
thoughts in a larger mould. But the versa-
tility with which the small forms are treated is
a testimony to the magnitude of his creative
faculty. The predominance of the small forms
is explained by his earlier method of composing.
Diligent and constant though he was in later
years, in early life his way of working was fitful
and inconstant. The compositions of this period
seem as if forced out of him by sudden impulses
of genius. As he subsequently says of his early
works, ' the man and the musician in me were
always trying to speak at the same time.' This
must indeed be true of every artist ; if the
whole personality be not put into a work of
art, it will be utterly worthless. But by those
words Schumann means to say that as a youth
he attempted to bring to light in musical form
his inmost feelings with regard to his personal
life-experiences. Under such circumstances it
is but natural that they should contain muchthat was purely accidental, and inexplicable by
the laws of art alone ; but it is to this kind of
source that they owe the magic freshness andoriginality with which they strike the hearer.
The Variations, op. 1, are an instance of this.
The theme is formed of the notes A, B(l>), E,
G, G. Meta Abegg was the name of a beautiful
young lady in Mannheim, whose acquaintance
Schumann, when a student, had made at a ball.
Playful symbolism of this kind is not un-
frequent in him. To a certain extent it may be
traced back to Sebastian Bach, who expressed
his own name in a musical phrase ; as Schu-
mann afterwards did Gade's. (See ' Album fiir
die Jugend,' op. 68, No. 41.) In the same way(Gfes. Schriften, ii. 115) he expresses the woman's
name ' Beda ' in musical notes, and also in the
' Carnaval ' made those letters in his own namewhich stand as notes—s (es), c, h, a—into a
musical phrase. But the idea really came from
Jean Paul, who is very fond of tracing out
such mystic connections. Schumann's op. 2
consists of a set of small pianoforte pieces in
dance -form under the name of 'Papillons.'
They were written partly at Heidelberg, partly
in the first years of the Leipzig period whichfollowed. No inner musical connection subsists
between them. But Schumann felt the neces-
sity of giving them a poetical connection, to
satisfy his own feelings, if for nothing else,
and for this purpose he adopted the last chapter
but one' of Jean Paul's Flegeljakre, where a
masked ball is described at which the lovers
Wina and Walt are guests, as a poetic back-
ground for the series. The several pieces of
music may thus be intended to represent partly
the different characters in the crowd of maskers,
and partly the conversation of the lovers. Thefinale is written designedly with reference to
this scene in Jean Paul, as is plain from the
indication written above the notes found near
the end— ' The noise of the Carnival-night dies
away. The church clock strikes six.' Thestrokes of the bell are actually audible, being
represented by the A six times repeated. Thenall is hushed, and the piece seems to vanish
into thin air like a vision. In the finale there
are several touches of humour. It begins withan old Volkslied, familiar to every householdin Germany as the Grossvatertanz.^
In contrast to these two old-fashioned love-
tunes is placed the soft and graceful melody of
No. 1 of the ' Papillons, ' which is afterwards
worked oontrapuntally with the ' Grossvater-
tanz.' The name ' Papillons ' is not meant to
indicate a light, fluttering character in the
pieces, but rather refers to musical phases
which, proceeding from various experiences of
life, have attained the highest musical import,
as the butterfly soars upwards out of the
chrysalis. The design of the title-page in the
first edition points towards some such meaningas this ; and the explanation we have given
corresponds with his usual method of composingat that time. There exists, however, no decisive
account of it by the composer himself.
In a kind of connection with the ' Papillons
'
is the ' Carnaval,' op. 9. Here again Schumannhas depicted the merriment of a masquerade in
musical pictures, and a third and somewhatsimilar essay of the same kind is his ' Faschings-
^chwank' aus Wien,' op. 26. The 'Carnaval'
is a collection of small pieces, written one byone without any special purpose, and not pro-
vided either with collective or individual titles
until later, when he arranged them in their
present order. The musical connection betweenthe pieces is, that with few exceptions they all
contain some reference to the succession of notes
1 In a letter to hta friend Heniiette Volgt, Schumann calls it thelatt chapter. ThlB, although obviously a slip of the pen, has ledseveral writers to wonder what grand or fanciful idea lurks behindthe ' Papillons.'
2 See Grossvatbrtanz, vol. il. p. 246.-
3 Faaching is a German word tor the Carnival
SCHUMANN 371
a, es, c, h (A, E|>, C, B) or as, c, h (Ab, C, B).
Now Asch is the name of a small town in
Bohemia, the home of a Fraulein Ernestine vonFrioken, with whom Schumann was very
intimate at the time of his writing this music.
The same notes in another order, s (or es), c, h, a,
are also the only letters in Schumann's ownname which represent notes. This explains
the title ' Sphinxes, ' which is affixed to theninth number on p. 13 of the original edition.
The pieces are named, some from characters in
the masked ball—Pierrot, Arleqnin, Pantalon,
and Colombine,—and some from real persons.
In this last category we meet with the membersof the Davidsbund—Plorestan, Eusebius, andChiarina ; Ernestine von Fricken, under the
name Estrella, Chopin, and Paganini ; there is
also a ' Coquette,' but it is not known for whomthis is intended. Besides these, some of the
pieces are named from situations and occurrences
at the ball ; a recognition, an avowal of love,
a promenade, a pause in the dance (Reconnais-
sance, Aveu, Promenade. Pause) ; between these
are heard the sounds of waltzes, and in one of
the pieces the letters A-S-C-H, and S-C-H-A,' Lettres dansantes,' themselves dance boister-
ously and noisily, and then vanish like airy
phantoms. A piece called ' Papillons ' rushes
by like a hasty reminiscence, and in the num-bers entitled. ' Florestan '—an actual passage
from No. 1 of the 'Papillons ' (op. 2) is inserted.
The finale is called ' March of the Davidsbiindler
against the Philistines.' The symbol of the
Philistines is the ' Grossvatertanz, ' here called
by Schumann a time of the 17th century. Thefact of the march being in 3-4 time has perhaps
a humorous and symbolic meaning.
The ' Davidsblindlertanze ' (op. 6), the ' Fan-
tasiestiicke' (op. 12), ' Kinderscenen ' (op. 16),' Kreisleriana ' (op. 16), ' Novelletten ' (op. 2l),
'Bunte Blatter' (op. 99), and ' Albumblatter
'
(op. 124), the contents of which all belong to
Schumann's early period, and, of the later
works, such pieces as the ' Waldscenen ' (op. 82)
— all bear the impress of having originated like
the 'Papillons' and the 'Carnaval,' in the
personal experiences of Schumann's life. Theyare poisies d'occasUm (Gelegenheitsdichtungen),
a term which, in Goethe's sense, designates the
highest form that a work of art can take. As
to the 'Davidsbundlertanze,' the 'Kreisleriana,'
and the 'Novelletten,' Schumann himself tells
us that they reflect the varying moods wrought
in him by the contentions about Clara Wieck.
In the 'Davidsblindlertanze' the general ar-
rangement is that Florestan and Eusebius appear
usually byturns, though sometimes also together.
The expression 'dance' does not, however, mean,
as is sometimes supposed, the dances that the
Davidsbiindler led the Philistines, but merely
indicates the form of the pieces, which is, truth
to say, used with scarcely less freedom than
that of the march in the finale to the ' Carnaval.
'
The ' Kreisleriana ' have their origin in a fan-
tastic story with the same title by E. T. A.
Hoflmann, contained in his Famtasiestucke in
Callots Manier (Bamberg, 1814, p. 47). Hoff-
mann was a follower of Jean Paul, who indeed
wrote a preface to Fantasiestiicke, Half mu-sician, half poet, Schumann must have looked on
him as a kindred spirit ; and in the figure of
the wild and eccentric yet gifted ' Kapellmeister
Kreisler,' drawn by Hoffmann from incidents
in his own life, there were many traits in whichSchumann might easily see a reflection of him-
self. Of the ' Novelletten ' Schumann says that
they are 'long and connected romantic stories.'
There are no titles to explain them, although
much may be conjectured from the indications
of time and expression. But the rest of the
works we have just mentioned nearly always
have their separate component parts, headed
by names which lead the imagination of the
player or hearer, in a clear and often deeply
poetic manner, in a particular and definite direc-
tion. This form of piano piece was altogether
» very favourite one with Schumann. He is
careful to guard against the supposition that he
imagined a definite object in his mind, such as
a ' pleading child ' (in op. 1 5) or a ' haunted spot
in a wood ' (in op. 82), and then tried to describe
it in notes. His method was rather to invent
the piece quite independently, and afterwards to
give it a particular meaning by a superscription.
His chief object was always to give the piece a
value of its own, and to make it intelligible of
itself. This principle is undoubtedly the right
one, and, by adopting it, Schumann proved him-
self a genuine musician, with faith in the inde-
pendent value of his art. Nevertheless, had he
consideredthepoetical titlesutterlyunimportant,
he would hardly have employed them as he has
in so' large a majority of his smaller pianoforte
pieces. His doing so seems to evince a feeling
that in the composition of the piece alone, he
had not said everything that struggled within
him for expression. Until a particular mood or
feeling had been aroused in the hearer or the
player, by means of the title, Schumann could
not be sure that the piece would have the effect
which he desired it to have. Strictly speaking,
poetry and music can only be really united
by means of the human voice. But in these
pianoforte pieces with poetical titles, Schumannfound a means o^ expression which hovered as
it were between pure instrumental music on the
one hand, and vocal music on the other, andthus received a certain indefinite and mysterious
character of its own, which may most justly becalled Romantic, but which is entii-ely apart
from any connection with what is now called
Programme Music.
Among the compositions consisting of small
forms we must count the variations. Schu-mann treated the variation -form freely andfancifully, but with a profuse wealth of genius
372 SCHUMANN
and depth of feeling. For the Impromptus on" theme by Clara Wieok (op. 5), Beethoven's
so-called 'Eroioa Variations' (op. 35), apparently-
served as a model ; they remind ns of themboth in general arrangement and in the em-ployment of the bass as a theme, without beingin any way wanting in originality. In theAndante and Variations for two pianofortes (op.
46),(|0ne of the most charming and popular of
Schumann's pianoforte works, he treated the
form with such freedom that they are not so
much variations as fantasias in the style of
variations. [They were at iirst intended to beaccompanied by two violoncellos and horn,
and tliis version is in the supplementaryvolume of the Breitkopf edition.] His mostsplendid work in this form ia his op. 13 (the' Etudes symphouiques '), a work of the grandest
calibre, which alone would be sufficient to secure
him a place in the first rank of composers for
the pianoforte, so overpowering is the display
of his own individual treatment of the piano-
forte—frequently rising to the highest limits of
the bravura style of execution—of his over-
flowing profusion of ideas, and his boldness in
turning the variation form to his own account.
In the finale the first two bars only of the
theme are employed, and these only occasionally
in the ' working-out section.' In other respects
the proud edifice of this elaborately workednumber has nothing in common with a varia-
tion. It contains, however, a delicate reference
to the person to whom the whole work is
dedicated, William Sterndale Bennett. Thebeginning of the chief subject is a fragment of
the celebrated romance in MarsChner's ' Templer
und Jiidin' (' Du stolzes England, freue dich,'
etc.). It is an ingenious way of paying a com-
pliment to his beloved English composer.
'
Schumann had made early attempts at works
of larger structure, but it cannot be denied that
they were not at first successful. The Fj minor
Sonata (op. 11) teems with beautiful ideas, but
is wanting in unity to a remarkable degree, at
least in the Allegro movements. The F minor
Sonata (op. 14) shows a decided improvementin this respect, and the Sonata in G minor (op.
22) is still better, although not entirely free from
a certain clumsiness. Schumann afterwards
showed himself quite aware of the faults of
these sonatas in regard to form. They offer the
most striking example of Ms irregular andrhapsodical method of working at that period.
The second movement of the G minor Sonata
was written in June 1830, the first and third
in June 1833, the fourth in its original form in
October 1835, and in its ultimate form in 1838,
the whole sonata being published in 1839. TheF( minor Sonata was begun in 1833, and not
completed till 1835. The F minor Sonata,
finished on June 5, 1836, consisted at first of
1 The Ave varlattonfl left out in the puhllahed edition are included
in the supplementaly volume of Breitkopf's editiob.
five movements, an Allegro, two Scherzos, one
after the other, an Andantino with variations,
and a Prestissimo. When the work was first
published, under the title of 'Concerto sans
Orchestre, ' Schumann cut out the two scherzos,
apparently intending to use them for a second
sonata in F minor. This, however, was not
carried out, and in the second edition of the
work he restored the second of the scherzos to
its place. 2 When we observe how he took up
one sonata after another, we see howimpossible it
is that any close connection can subsist between
the several parts, or that there should be any
real unity in them as a whole.
The Allegro for pianoforte (op. 8) is somewhatdisjointed in form, while the Toccata (op. 7), a
bravura piece of the greatest brilliance and
difficulty in perfect sonata-form, exhibits a great
degree of connection and consequence. In the
great Fantasia (op. 17) we are led by the title
to expect no conciseness of form. The classical
masters generally gave to their fantasias a
very clearly defined outline, but Schumann in
this case breaks through every restriction that
limits the form, especially in the first movement,where he almost seems to lose himself in limit-
less freedom. In order to give unity to the
fantastic and somewhat loosely connected move-ments of this work of genius, he again hadrecourse to poetry, and prefaced the piece withsome lines of F. Sehlegel's as a motto :
—
Dntvh alle Tjine ti>net Through all the tones that vibrateIm hunten Erdeutraum, About earth's mingled dream,Ein leiser Ton gezogen One whispered note is soundingFUr den der heiiolich lauBchet. For ears attent to hear.
The ' earth's mingled dream ' is in a mannerportrayed in the substance of the composition.
Schumann means that ' the ear attent to hear
'
will perceive the uniting-tones that run through
all the pictures which the imagination of the
composer unrolls to his view. Sehlegel's mottoseems almost like an excuse offeredby Schumann.The original purpose of this Fantasia was not,
however, to illustrate these lines. About Dec.
17, 1835, an appeal having been made fromBonn for contributions to a Beethoven memorial,
Schumann proposed to contribute a composition
;
and this was the origin of the work now called' Fantasia,' the three movements of which were
originally intended to bear the respective inscrip-
tions of 'Ruins,' 'Triumphal Arch,' and 'TheStarry Crown.' By these names the character
both of the separate parts and of the wholebecomes more intelligible. In order to get into
the right disposition for the work Schumann'sfour articles on Beethoven's monument should
be read (Gfesammelte Schri/ten, vol. i. p. 215).
Although few of Schumann's pianoforte worksof the first period are without defects of foi-m,
yet their beauties are so many that we easily
forget those defects. In certain ways the com-2 The iirat appeared in 1866 as No. 12 of the Posthumous Works
pub] ished by Eieter-Biedermann, together with the discarded Finaleof the Sonata in Q minor as TSo. 13. Both are in the supplementaryvolume of the Breitkopf Be Biirtel edition (1893).
SCHUMANN 373
positions of the first ten years present the mostcharacteristic picture of Schumann's genius.
In after life he proposed and attained loftier
ideals in works worthy of the perfect master.
But the freshness and charm of his earlier piano-
forte works was never surpassed, and in his later
years wasbutrarelyreached. Adreamy imagina-
tive nature was united in Schumann's character
with a native solidity that never descended to
the commonplace. From the first his music hadin it a character which appealed to the people—^nay, which was in a way national ; andquickly as he reached his present immensepopularity in Germany, it will probably be long
before he has the same influence in other nations,
especially in France and Italy. After Beethoven,
Schumann is the only master who possesses the
power of giving full and free expression to the
humorous element in instrumental music. Bothin his writings and compositions he allows it to
have full play, and it is in his earlier PF. works
that it is most prominent. One of his freshest
and fullest works is the Humoreske (op. 20),
the most wonderful portrayal of a humorousdisposition that it is possible to imagine in
music. Schumann's thorough individuality is
prominent, alike in harmonies, rhythm, and
colouring, and in the fonns of the melodies. It
is, however, characteristic of his early PF. works
that broad bold melodies rarely occur in them,
though there is a superabundance of melodic
fragments—germs of melody, as they might be
called, full of a deep expression of their own.This music is pervaded by a spring-like anima-
tion and force, a germ of future promise, whichgivesitapeculiar roinantic character ; a character
strengthened by the admixture of poetic moodsand feelings. Schumann was both musician
and poet, and he who would thoroughly under-
stand his music must be first imbued with the
spirit of the German poets who were most
prominent in Schumann's youth ; above all
others Jean Paul and the whole romantic school,
particularly Eichendorff, Heine, and Riickert.
And just as these poets were specially great in
short lyrics, revealing endless depths of feeling
in a few lines, so did Schumann succeed, as no
one has done before or since, in saying great
things and leaving unutterable things to be felt,
in the small form of a short pianoforte piece.
Schumann's enthusiastic admiration and
thorough appreciation of Bach have been already
described. He shared this with Mendelssohn,
but it is certain that he entered more thoroughly
than Mendelssohn did into the old master's
mysterious depth of feeling. It would therefore
have been wonderful if he had not attempted
to express himself in the musical forms used by
Bach. His sti-ong natural inclination towards
polyphonic writing is perceptible even in his
earliest pianoforte works, but it was not until
1840 that it comes prominently forward. His
six fugues on the name ' Bach ' (op. 60), the
four fugues (op. 72), the seven pianoforte pieces
in fughetta form (op. 126), the studies in canon
form for the pedal-piano (op. 56), and the other
separate canons and fugues scattered up anddown his pianoforte works—all form a class in
modern pianoforte music just as new as do his
pianoforte works in the free style. The treat-
ment of the parts in the fugues is by no meansalways strictly according to rule, even whenviewed from the standpoint of Bach, whoallowed himself considerable freedom. Inemploying an accompaniment of chords in onepart, he also goes far beyond what had hitherto
been considered allowable. But yet, taken as
a whole, these works are masterpieces; no other
composer of modem times could have succeeded
ais he has done in welding together so completely
the modern style of feeling with the old strict
form, or in giving that form a new life andvigour by means of the modern spirit. Inthese pieces we hear the same Schumann whomwe know in his other works ; his ideas adaptthemselves as if spontaneously to the strict
requirements of the polyphonic style, and these
requirements again draw from his imagination
new and characteristic ideas. In short, thougha great contrapuntist he was not a pedantic
one, and he may be numbered among the fewmusicians of the last hundred years to whompolyphonic forms have been a perfectly natural
means of expressing their ideas.
As a composer of Songs Schumann stands bythe side of Schubert and Mendelssohn, the
youngest of the trio of great writers in this
class of music. Schubert shows the greatest
wealth of melody, Mendelssohn the most perfect
roundness of form; but Schumann is by far the
most profoundly and intellectually suggestive.
He displays a more finely cultivated poetic taste
than Schubert, with a many-sided feeling for
lyric expression far greater than Mendelssohn's.
Many of his melodies are projected in bold andsoaring lines such as we meet with in no other
composer but Schubert ; for instance, in the well-
known songs 'Widmung' (op. 25, No. 1), 'Lied
der Braut' (op. 25, No. 12), ' Liebesbotsohaft
'
(op. 36, No. 6), ' Stille Thranen ' (op. 35, No.1 0), and others. Still more frequently he throwshimself into the spirit of the German Volkslied,
and avails himself of its simpler and narrower
forms of melody. Indeed his songs owe their
extraordinary popularity chiefly to this con-
spicuously national element. The reader needonly be reminded of the song ' Sonnenschein
'
(op. 36, No. 4), of Heine's ' Liederkreis ' (op.
24), and of the Heine songs 'Hbr' ich dasLiedchen klingen," ' Allnachtlich im Traume,''Aus altien Marchen'(op. 48, Nos. 10, 14, 15),
of most of the songs and ballads (op. 45, 49,
53), and above all of the ' Wanderlied ' (op. 35,No. 3), which sparkles with youthful life andhealthy vigour. Besides these there are manysongs in which the melody is hardly worked
374 SCHUMANN
out, and which are—as is also frequently the
case with his pianoforte works—as it were,
mere sketches, or germs, of melodies. This
style of treatment, which is quite peculiar to
Schumann, he was fond of usingwhen he wishedto give the impression of a vague, dreamy, veiled
sentiment ; and by this means he penetrated
more deeply into the vital essence and sources
of feeling than any other song-writer. Suchsongs as ' Der Nussbaum ' (op. 25, No. 3), or
'Im Walde' (op. 39, No. 11) are masterpieces
in this kind. Besides this, Schumann alwaysbrought a true poet's instinct to bear onthe subtlest touches and most covert sugges-
tions in the poems which he chose for setting,
and selected the musical expression best fitted
to their purport. Schubert and Mendelssohnset verses to tunes, Schumann wrote poems to
them in music. He was the first who ventured
to close on the dominant seventh when his text
ended with a query (as in op. 49, No. 3). "With
him also the vocal part often does not end onthe common chord, but the true close is left to
the accompaniment, so as to give an effect of
vague and undefined feeling. The part filled
by the pianoforte in Schumann's songs is a very
important one. With Schubert and Mendelssohnwe may very properly speak of the pianoforte
part as an ' accompaniment, ' however rich andindependent it occasionally appears. But with
Schumann the word is no longer appropriate,
the pianoforte asserts its dignity and equality
with the voice ; to perform his songs satisfactorily
the player must enter fully into the singer's
part and the singer into the player's, and they
must constantly supplement and fulfil each
other. It was evidently of moment in the
history of his art that Schumann should have
come to the work of writing songs aftei'ten years'
experience as a composer for the pianoforte,
and after instituting an entirely new style of
pianoforte music. This style supplied him with
an immense variety of delicate and poetic modes
and shades of expression, and it is owing to this
that he displays such constant novelty in his
treatment of the pianoforte part. The forms of
phrase which he adopts in his 'accompani-
ments ' are infinitely various, and always corre-
spond with perfect fitness and ingenuity to the
character of the verses. In some cases the
pianoforte part is an entirely independent
composition, which the voice merely follows
with a few declamatory phrases (op. 48, No. 9,
' Das ist ein Flbten und Geigen ') ; while in
others, in contrast to this, the voice stands
almost alone, and the pianoforte begins bythrowing in a few soft chords which nevertheless
have their due characteristic effect (op. 48, No.
13, 'Ich hab' im Traum'). In Schumann's
songs the proper function of the pianoforte is
to reveal some deep and secret meaning which
it is beyond the power of words,- even of sung
words, to express ; and he always disliked and
avoided those repetitions of the words of whichother composers have availed themselves in
order to fill' out in the music the feeling to which
the words give rise. When he does repeat he
always seems to have a special dramcUic end in
view rather than a musical one, and often makesthe piano supplement the sentiment aroused
by the text, while the voice is silent. He is
particularly strong in his final symphonies, to
which he gave a value and importance, as
an integral portion of the song, which no one
before him had ventured to do, often assigning
to it a new and independent musical thought
of its own. Sometimes he allows the general
feeling of the song to reappear in it under quite
a new light ; sometimes the musical phrase
suggests some final outcome of the words,
opening to the fancy a remote perspective in
which sight is lost (a beautiful example is op.
48, No. 16, 'Diealten bbsen Lieder '). Or hecontinues the poem in music ; of which a
striking instance is the close of the ' Frauen-
liebe und Leben ' (op. 42), where by repeating
the music of the first song he revives in the
fancy of the lonely widow the memory of her
early happiness. The realm of feeling revealed
to us in Schumann's songs is thoroughly youth-
ful, an unfailing mark of the true lyric ; the
sentiment he principally deals with is that of
love, which in his hands is especially tender
and pure, almost maidenly. The set of songs
called ' Frauenliebe und Leben ' gives us a deepinsight into the most subtle and secret emotions
of a pure woman's soul, deeper indeed thancould have been expected from any man, andin fact no composer but Schumann would havebeen capable of it.
Schumann also found musical equivalents andshades of colour for EichendorfFs mystical views
of nature ; his settings of Eichendorff's poemsmay be called absolutely classical, and he is
equally at home in dealing with the bubbling
freshness or the chivalrous sentiment of the poet.
Many of Schumann's fresh and sparkling songs
have a touch of the student's joviality, butwithout descending from their high distinction
;
never under any circumstances was he trivial.
Indeed he had no sympathy with the farcical,
though his talent for the humorous is amplyproved by his songs. A masterpiece of the
kind is the setting of Heine's poem ' ^n Jiing-
ling liebt ein Madohen' (op. 48, No. 11), withits strange undercurrent of tragedy. It wasprincipally in dealing with Heine's words that
he betrays this sense of humour ;' Wir sassen
am Fischerhause ' (op. 45, No. 3), is an example,
and still more 'I^ leuchtet meine Liebe' (op.
127, No. 3), where a resemblance to the scherzo
of the A minor String Quartet is very obvious.
A thing which may well excite astonishment as
apparently quitebeside the nature ofSchumann'scharacter, is that he could even find characteristic
music for Heine's bitterest irony (op. 24, No. 6)
SCHUMANN 3V5
'Warte, warte, wilder Schiffsmann,' and manyof the ' Diohterliebe.
'
Schumann's Symphonies may, without anyinjustice, be considered as the most importantin their time since Beethoven. Though Mendels-sohn excels him in regularity of form, and thoughSchubert's C major Symphony is quite uniquein its wealth of beautiful musical ideas, yetSchumann surpasses both in greatness and force.
He is the man, they the youths ; he has thegreatest amount of what is demanded by thatgreatest, most mature, and most important of
all forms of instrumental music. He comesnear to Beethoven, who it is quite evident wasalmost the only composer that he ever took as
a model. No trace whatever of Haydn or Mozartis to be found in his Symphonies, and of Men-delssohn just as little. A certain approximationto Schubert is indeed perceptible in the ' work-ing out ' {Durchfuhnrng) of his Allegro move-ments. But the symphonies, like the pianoforte
works, the songs, and indeed aU that Schumannproduced, bear the strong impress of a marvellous
originality, and a creative power all his own.Even the first published Symphony (in Bb, op.
38) shows a very distinct talent for this branchof composition. We do not know that Schu-
mann had ever previously attempted orchestral
compositions, except in the case of the symphonywritten in the beginning of 1830, which still
remains in MS. In 1839 he writes to Dorn :
' At present it is true that I have not had muchpractice in orchestral writing, but I hope to
master it some day.' And in his next attempt
he attained his object. In a few passages in
the Bl> Symphony, the effects of the instruments
are indeed not rightly calculated. One great
error in the first movement he remedied after
the first hearing. This was in the two opening
bars, from which the theme of the Allegro is
afterwards generated, and which were given to
the horns and trumpets. It ran originally thus,
in agreement with the beginning of the Allegi'O
movement
:
ir-cr^-T 5il=«t
which, on account of the G and A being stopped
notes, had an unexpected and very comic effect.
Schumann himself was much amused at the
mistake ; when he was at Hanover in January
1854 he told the story to his friends, and it wasvery amusing to hear this man, usually so grave
and silent, regardless ofthe presence of strangers
(forthe incidenttook place at apublicrestaurant),
sing out the first five notes of the subject quite
loud, the two next in a muffled voice, and the
last again loud. He placed the phrase a third
higher, as it stands in the printed score :
Another, but less important passage for the
horns has remained unalteted. In bar 17 of
the first Allegro, Schumann thought that this
phrase
ought to be made more prominent than it
usually was on the horns, and requested bothTaubert and David, when it was in rehearsal
at Berlin and Leipzig in the winter of 1842,to have it played on the trombones.
But in general we cannot but wonder at thecertain mastery over his means that he showseven in the first Symphony. His orchestra-
tion is less smooth and clear than that of either
Mendelssohn or Gade, and in its sterner style
reminds us rather of Schubert. But this stempower is suited to the substance of his ideas,
and there is no lack of captivating beauty of
sound. We even meet in his orchestral workswith a number of new effects of sound such as
only true genius can discover or invent. In-
stances of these are the treatment of the three
trumpets in the ' Manfred ' overtm-e, the use
made of the horns in the second movement of
the E|; Symphony, the violin solo introduced
into the Romanza of the D minor Symphony,etc. etc. It is hard to decide which of Schu-mann's four symphonies (or five, counting op.
52) is the finest. Each has individual beauties
of its own. In life and freshness and the feeling
of inward happiness, the Bb Symphony stands
at the head. Schumann originally intended to
call it the ' Spring Symphony'
; and indeed hewrote it, as we learn from a letter to Taubert,
in Feb. 1841, when the first breath of spring
was in the air. The first movement was to
have been called ' Spring's Awakening, ' and the
Finale (which he alvyays wished not to be takentoo fast) ' Spring's Farewell.' Many parts of
the symphony have an especial charm when wethus know the object with which they werewritten. The beginning of the introduction
evidently represente a trumpet-summons sent
pealing down from on high ; then gentle zephyrs
blow softly to and fro, and everywhere thedormant forces awake and make their way to
the light (we are quoting from the composer's
own programme). In the Allegro the Springcomes laughing in, in the full beauty of youth.
'
This explains and justifies the novel use of thetriangle in the first movement—an instrumentnot then considered admissible in a symphony.An enchanting effect is produced by the Springsong at the close of the first movement, playedas though sung with a full heart ; and it is anentirely new form of coda (see p. 67 of thescore). In publishing the Symphony, Schu-mann omitted the explanatory titles, becausehe believed that the attention of the public is
1 SchmnanD Intended the PiU vtvtue of the Introduction to betalEen diatlnctl7 faster at once, ao that the time might glide imper-ceptibly into the AUegro.
,
376 SCHUMANN
distracted from the main purpose of a work bythings of that kind. We may well believe,
moreover, that a good part of the spring-like
feeling in this symphony comes from the deepand heart-felt joy which Schumann felt at beingat last united to his hard-won bride. Thesame influence is seen in the D minor Symphony(op. 120), written in the same year with thatjust described, and immediately after it. It is
entirely similar to its predecessor in its funda-mental feeling, but has more passion. Theform too is new and very successful ; the four
sections follow each other consecutively withoutany pauses, so that the work seems to consist
of only one great movement. The subjects ofthe Introduction re-appear in the Eomanze,with different treatment, and the chief subject
of the first Allegro is the foundation of that of
the last. The second part of the first Allegro
is in quite an unusual form, and before the last
Allegrowe finda slowintroduction—imaginative,
majestic, and most original. As has beenalready mentioned, Schumann intended to call
the work 'Symphonic Fantasia.' Here,' too,
poetic pictures seem to be hovering round himon every side.
His third symphonic work of the year 1841is also irregular, but only in form, and has as
good a right as the second to the name of ' Sym-phony. ' It appeared, however, under the name' Overture, Scherzo, and Finale ' as op. 52. Ofthis' work, which is charming throughout, the
first movement offers us the only example to befound in Schumann of the influence ofCherubini,
a master for whom he had a great reverence,
perhaps the most lovely movement is the highly
poetic Scherzo in gigue-rhythm, which mightconstitute a type by itself among symphony-scherzos. His other scherzos approximate in
style to those of Beethoven,' whose invention andspeciality this form was, and who had nosuccessor in it but Schumann. The charac-
teristic of the C major Symphony (op. 61) is a
graver and more mature depth of feeling ; its
bold decisiveness of form ' and overpowering
wealth of expression reveal distinctly the re-
lationship in art between Schumann and Beet-
hoven. The form, too, as far as regards the
number and character of the movements, is
quite that of the classical masters, while in the
last Symphony (Eb, op. 97) Schumann once
more appears as one of the modem school.
This is divided into five separate movements,including a, slow movement in sustained style,
and of a devotional character, between the
Andante and the Finale. Schumann originally
inscribed it with the words ' In the style of anaccompaniment to a solemn ceremony ' (ira
Charakter der Begleitung einer feierlichen Cere-
monie), and we know that it was suggested to
him by the sight of Cologne Cathedral, andthe festivities on the occasion of Archbishop
Ton Geissel's elevation to the Cardinalate,
The other movements are powerful, and full of
variety and charm, and the whole symphony is
full of vivid pictures of Rhineland life. Perhaps
the gem of the whole is the second movement(Scherzo), in which power and beauty are
mingled with the romance which in every
German heart hovers round the Rhine and its
multitude of songs and legends. Althoughwritten in 1850, when Schumann's imagination
was becoming exhausted, the work bears notrace of any diminution of power.
The poetical concert-overture, a form invented
by Mendelssohn, and practised by Bennett andGade, was one never cultivated by Schumann.His overtures are really ' opening pieces, ' whetherto opera, play, or some festivity or other. Inthis again he follows Beethoven. His overtures,
like those of Beethoven, are most effective in
the concert-room, when the drama or occasion
for which they were composed is kept in mind.
It is so even with the wonderful ' Genoveva
'
overture, which contains something of Weber'spower and swing ; but more than all is it true
of the overture to Byron's 'Manfred,'so full of
tremendous passion. None of the overtures
subsequently written by Schumann i-eached this
degree of perfection, least of all his ' Faust
'
overture, though that to the ' Braut von Mes-sina'(op. 100) is not much inferior to 'Manfred.'
In the last year of his productive activity
Schumann was much occupied with this form,
but the exhausted condition of his creative
powers cannot be disguised, either in the ' Faust
'
overture or in those to Shakespeare's ' Julius
Caesar' (op. 128) and Goethe's 'Hermann undDorothea ' (op. 136), which last he had intendedto set as an opera. The festival overture on the' Rheinweinlied ' (op. 123) is cleverly worked,and a very effective piSce d'occasion.
It was in the spring of 1838 that Schumannmade his first attempt, so far sis we know, at aString Quartet. It was scarcely successful, for
he was too much immersed in pianoforte music;
at any rate the world has hitherto seen nothingof it. In June and July 1842 he was muchmore successful. The three string quartets (op.
41), written at this time, are the only ones that
have become known. "They cannot be said to
be in the purest quartet style ; but as Schu-mann never played any stringed instrument,
this is not surprising. They still retain muchof the pianoforte style ; but by this very meansSchumann attains many new and beautiful
effects. At the time of writing the A minorquartet Schumann had become acquainted withMarsohner's G minor Trio (op. 112), andspeaks of it in the Zeitschrift. The fine
scherzo of that work struck him very much,and in his own scherzo it reappears, in amodified form certainly, but yet recognisable
enough. In spite of this plagiarism, however, wemust allow the quartet to be in the highestdegree original, and full of richness and poetry.
SCHUMANN 377
It contains much enchanting beauty, neversurpassed even by Schumann. He seems hereto have resumed his practice of mixing uppoetic mysticism with his music. Whatother reason could there be for proposing touse the four bars of modulation from the first
quartet (bars 30-34), exactly as they stand, for
an introduction to the second quartet? Heafterwards struck them out, as may be seen inthe autograph. The other quartets also arrivedat their present form only after manifold altera-
tions. The slow introduction to the A minorQuartet was at first intended to be played con
sordini. The third quartet began with a chordof the 6-5 on D, held out lor a whole bar. Thegreatest alterations were made in the first
Allegro of the A minor and in the variations in
A|> of the F major Quartets. Whole sections
were re-written and modified in various ways.But Wasielewski is mistaken in saying (3rd ed.
p. 178, note) that the piii lento over the codain these variations is a misprint for piii, mosso.
Schumann wrote piii lento quite plainly, andevidently meant what he wrote. He maypossibly have changed his mind afterwards, for
in regard to tempo he was often moved bythe opinions of others.
Of the works for strings and pianoforte, the
Quintet (op. 44) is of course the finest ; it will
always keep its place in the first rank of musical
masterpieces. It claims the highest admiration,
not only because of its brilliant originality, andits innate power—which seems to grow withevery movement, and at the end of the wholeleaves the hearer with a feeling of the possibility
of never-ending increase—but also because of
its gorgeous beauty of sound, and the beautiful
and well-balanced relations between the piano-
forte and the strings. Musicians are still living,
like Carl Eeinecke of Leipzig, who at the time
of its appearance were in the most susceptible
period of youth, and who tell of the indescrib-
able impression the work made upon them. It
must have seemed like a new paradise of beauty
revealed to their view. The Pianoforte Quartet
(op. 47) only wants animation, and a morepopular character in the best sense of the word,
to make it of equal merit with the Quintet.
There is much in it of the spirit of Bach, as Is
perhaps most evident in the wonderful melody
of the Andante. A high rank is taken by the
Trios in D minor (op. 63) and F major (op. 80),
both, as well as the quintet and quartet, written
in one and the same year. In the first a
passionate and sometimes 'gloomy character
predominates, while the second is more cheerful
and full of warmth in the middle movements.
The canonic style is employed in the Adagios
of both trios with new and powerful effect. The
treatment of the strings with respect to the
pianoforte may here and there be considered
too orchestral in style ; but it must not be
forgotten that it was adopted to suit the piano
style, which in Schumann is very different from
that of the classical masters and of Mendelssohn.
The two trios, however, are wanting in that
expression ofperfect healthwhich isso prominent
in both the quintet and the quartet. Theyshow traces of the hurry and breathless haste
which in his later years increases the complica-
tion of his rhythms. The third and last Trio
(G minor, op. 110) is far inferior to the others.
There is still the same artistic design, and in
isolated passages the noble genius of the master
still shines clearly out ; but as a whole this
trio tells of exhaustion. The same may be said
of most of the other chamber works of Schu-
mann's latest years. Among them are twosonatas for pianoand violin, gloomy, impassioned
compositions, which can hardly be listened to
without a feeling of oppression. There are also
a number of shorter pieces for different instru'
ments, among which the ' Marchenbilder fiir
Pianoforte und Viola' (op. 113) are prominent.
No one who bears in mind Schumann's ulti-
mate fate can hear without emotion the last
of these ' Marchenbilder,' which bears the direc-
tion 'Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck.'
In the sphere of the concerto Schumann has
left an imperishable trace of his genius in the
Pianoforte Concerto in A minor (op. 54). It
is one of his most beautiful and mature works.
In addition to all his peculiar originality it has
also the qualities, which no concerto should
lack, of external brilliancy, and striking, power-
ful, well-rounded subjects. The first movementis written in a free form with happy efl'ect ; the
cause being that Schumann had at first intended
it to stand as an independent piece, with the
title ' Fantasia. ' He did not add the other twomovements until two years afterwards.—The' Introduction und Allegro appassionato,' for
pianoforte and orchestra (op. 92), is a rich
addition to concerto literature. In Schumannthere is a deeper connection between the
pianoforte and orchestra than had before beencustomary, though not carried to such a point
as to interfere with the contrast between the
two independent powers. He was far fromwriting symphonies with the pianoforte obbli-
gato. His other works in concerto-form, written
in the last years of his life, do not attain to
the height of the Concerto. Among them is
an unpublished violin concerto written betweenSept. 21 and Oct. 3, 1853, and consisting of
the following movements : (1) D minor alia
breve, ' Imkraftigen, nicht zu schnellen Tempo'
;
(2) Bb major, common time, ' Langsam '; (3)
D major, 3-4, 'Lebhaft, doch nicht zu schnell.'
The autograph was in the possession of Joachim.
A Fantasia for violin and orchestra, dedicated
to the same great artist, is published as op. 131.
The Violoncello Concerto (op. 129) is remark-able for a very beautiful slow middle movement.There is also a Concerto for four horns andorchestra (op. 86). Schumann himself thought
26
378 SCHUMANN
very highly of this piece, partly because, as hewrote to Dr. Hartel, 'it was quite curious.'
It is indeed the first attempt made in moderntimes to revive the form of the old Concerto
grosso which Sebastian Bach had brought to
perfection in his six so-called 'Brandenburg'concertos. As these concertos of Bach were notprinted until 1850, and Schumann can scarcely
have known them in manuscript, it is a remark-able and Interesting coincidence that he shouldthus have followed Bach's lead without knowingit. The piece is particularly hard for the first
horn, because of the high notes. When well
rendered it has a peculiarly sonorous, often veryromantic effect, to which, however, the ear soonbecomes insensible from the tone of the four
horns.
In his account of Marschner's ' Klange aus
Osten,' a work performed in Leipzig on Oct.
22, 1840, Schumann expresses great admiration
for the form, in which it was possible to makeuse for concert performances of romantic stories,
which had hitherto been only used on the stage.
He was the first to follow this example in
his 'Paradise and the Peri.' The text wastaken from Moore's poem, of which Schumannshortened some parts to suit his purpose, while
he lengthened others by his own insertions.
It was his first work for voices and orchestra,
and is one of his greatest and most important.
The subject was happily chosen. The longing
felt by one of those ideal beings created by the
imagination from the forces of nature, to attain
or regain a, higher and happier existence, andusing every means for the fulfilment of this
longing, is of frequent occurrence in the Germanpopular legends, and is still a favourite and
sympathetic idea in Germany. It is the root
of the legends of the Fair Melusina, of the
Water Nixie, and ofHans Heiling. Schumann's
fancy must have been stimulated by the magic
of the East, no less than by Moore's poem, with
its poetic pictures displayed on a background
of high moral sentiment. The fact of Schu-
mann's having retained so much of .Moore's
narrative is worthy of all praise ; it is the
descriptive portions of the poem that have the
greatest charm, and the music conforms to this.
True, there will always be a certain disadvan-
tage in using a complete self-contained poemas a text for music, a great deal of which will
inevitably have been written without regard to
the composer. Much that we pass over lightly
in reading has, when set to music, a moredefinite and insistent effect than was intended.
In other places again, the poem, from the
musician's point of view, will be deficient in
opportunities for the strong contrasts so neces-
sary for effect in music. This is very obvious
in Schumann's composition. The third portion
of the work, although he took much trouble to
give it greater variety by additions to the poetry,
suffers from a certain monotony. Not that the
separate numbers are weaker than those of the
former parts, but they are wanting in strong
shadows. But there is something else that
prevents the work from producing a, really
striking effect upon large audiences, and that
is, if we may say so, that there is too muchmusic in it. Schumann brought it forth from
the fulness of his heart, and threw, even into
its smallest interludes, all the depth of expres-
sion of which he was capable. The beauties are
crowded together, and stand in each other's
light. If they had been fewer in number they
would have had more effect. But, with all
these allowances, ' Paradise and the Peri ' is one
of the most enchanting musical poems in exist-
ence. And we can now confirm his own words
in a letter to a friend after the completion of
the work : ' A soft voice within me kept saying
while I wrote. It is not in vain that thou art
writing ' : for this composition will go far to
make him immortal. All the choruses in' Paradise and the Peri,' perhaps with the
exception of the last, are fine, original, andeffective. But it must be admitted that choral
composition was not really Schumann's strong
point. In this respect he is far inferior to
Mendelssohn. In many of his choruses he mighteven seem to lack the requisite mastery over
thetechnical requirements ofchoral composition,
so Instrumental in style, so impracticable andunnecessarily difficult do they seem. But ifweconsider Schumann's skill in polyphonic writing,
and recall pieces of such grand conception andmasterly treatment as the beginning of the last
chorus of the ' Faust ' music, we feel convinced
that the true reason of the defect lies deeper.
The essential parts of a chorus are large andsimple subjects, broad and flowing development,and divisions qlearly marked and intelligible to
all. In a good chorus there mustbe somethingtospeak to the heart of the masses. Schumanntook exactly the opposite view. The chorus
was usually an instrument unfitted for the
expression of his ideas. His genius could havemasteredthe technical part ofchoral composition
as quickly and surely as that of orchestral com-position. But since the case was otherwise, the
chief importance of ' Paradise and the Peri ' is
seen to be in the solos and their accompaniments,especially in the latter, for here the orchestra
stands in the same relation to the voice as the
pianoforte does in Schumann's songs. A goodorchestral rendering of ' Paradise and the Peri
'
is a task of the greatest difficulty, but one re-
warded by perfect 'enjoyment.
In the fairy-tale of ' The Pilgrimage of the
Kose ' (op. 112) Schumann intended to produce
a companion picture to ' Paradise and the Peri,'
but in less definite outline and vaguer colours.
The idea of the poem is similar to that of the
former work, but Horn's execution of the idea
is entirely without taste. Schumann waspossibly attracted by its smooth versification
SCHUMANN 379
and a few really good musical situations. Themusic contains much that is airy and fresh, as
well as a beautiful dirge. On the other hand,
it is full of a feeble sentimentality utterly
foreign to Schumann's general character, andascribable only to the decay of his imagination.
The insignificant and wholly idyllic subject wasquite inadequate to give employment to the
whole apparatus of solo, chorus, and orchestra,
and Schumann's first idea of providing a piano-
forte accompaniment only was the right one.
With a small section of Schumann's admirers
the work will always keep its place, and produce
a pleasing though not very deep effect. Hisother works in this form consist of four ballads :—'Der Konigssohn' (op. 116), 'Des Sangers
Fluoh' (op. 139), 'Das Gliick von Edenhall
'
(op. 143), all by Uhland ; and 'Vom Pagenund der Konigstochter ' (op. 140), by Geibel. It
is painfully evident that these poems were not
really written for music. The way the principal
events of the story are described, and the wholeoutward form of the verses, imply that they
were intended to be recited by a single person,
and that not a singer but a speaker. If neces-
sary to be sung, the form of a strophic song
should have been chosen, as is the case with
'Das Gliick von Edenhall,' but this wouldconfine the varieties of expression within too
narrow a range. It is as though Schumann'spent-up desire for the dramatic form were
seeking an outlet in these ballads ; especially
as we know that in the last years of his creative
activity he was anxious to meet with a newopera-libretto. The faults of texts and subjects
might, however, be overlooked, if the music madeitself felt as the product of a rich and unwearied
imagination. Unfortunately, however, this is
seldom the case. It is just in the more dramatic
partsthat we detect an obvious dulness in the
music, a lameness in rhythm, and » want of
fresh and happy contrasts. It must be re-
marked, however, that isolated beauties of no
mean order are to be met with ; such as the
whole of the third part and the beginning and
end of the second, in the ballad ' Vom Pagen
und der Konigstochter. ' These works, however,
taken as a whole, will hardly live.
On the other hand, there are some works of
striking beauty for voices and orchestra in a
purely lyrical vein. Among these should be
mentioned the ' Eeqniem for Mignon ' from' Wilhelm Meister ' (op. 98J), and Hebbel's' Nachtlied ' (op. 108). The former of these
was especially written for music, and contains
the loveliest thoughts and words embodied in
an unconstrained and agreeable form. Fewcomposers were so well fitted for such a work
as Schumann, with his sensitive emotional
faculty and his delicate sense of poetry ; and
it is,no wonder that he succeeded in producing
this beautiful little composition. But it should
never be heard in a large concert rooiu, for which
its delicate proportions and tender colouring are
utterly unfitted. The ' Nachtlied ' is a longchoral movement. The peculiar and fantastic
feeling of the poem receives adequate treatmentby a particular style in which the chorus is
sometimes used only to give colour, and some-times is combined with the orchestra in a
polyphonic structure, in which all human in-
dividuality seems to be merged, and only theuniversal powers of nature and of life reign
supreme.
Schumann's music to ' Faust ' is not intended
to be performed on the stage as the musicalcomplement of Goethe's drama. It is a piece
for concert performance, or rather a set of pieces,
for he did not stipulate or intend that all three
parts should be given together. What he did
was to take out a number of scenes from bothparts of Goethe's poem, and set music to them.
It follows that the work is not self-contained,
but requires for its full understanding an accu-
rate knowledge of the poem. From the First
Part he took the following:—(1) Part of the
first scene in the garden between Gretchen andFaust
; (2) Gretchen before the shrine of the
Mater dolorosa ; (3) The scene in the Cathedral.
These three form the first division of his Faustmusic. From the Second Part of the play headopted : (1) The first scene of the first act (the
song of the spirits at dawn, the sunrise, andFaust's soliloquy)
; (2) The scene with the four
aged women from the fifth act; (3) Faust's death
in the same act (as far as the words, ' Der Zeiger
fallt—Erfallt, esist vollbracht'). Theseform the
second division of the music. Schumann's third
division consists of the last scene of the fifth act
(Faust's glorification) divided into seven num-bers. The experiment of constructing a workof art, without central point or connection in it-
self, but entirely dependent for these on another
work of art, could only be successful in the ease
of a poem like ' Faust'
; and even then, perhaps,
only with the German people, with whomFaust is almost as familiar as the Bible. Butit really was successful, more particularly in
the third division, which consists of only onegreat scene, and is the most important from a
musical point of view. In this scene Goethehimself desired the co-operation of music. Its
mystic import and splendid expression could
find no composer so well fitted as Schumann,who seemed, as it were, predestined for it. Hethrew himself into the spirit of the poem withsuch deep sympathy and understanding, that
from beginning to end his music gives the im-pression of being a commentary on it. ToSchumann is due the chief meed of praise for
having popularised the second part of ' Faust.
'
In musical importance no other choral work of
his approaches the third division of his work.In freshness, originality, and sustained powefof invention it is in no way Inferior to ' Paradise'
and the Peri.' Up to about the latter half of
380 SCHUMANN
the last chorus it is a chain of musical gems,a perfectly unique contribution to concert litera-
ture, in the first rank of those works of art ofwhich the German nation may well be proud.The second division of the ' Faust ' music, con-sisting of three other scenes from the SecondPart of the poem, is also of considerable merit.It is, however, evident in many passages thatSchumann has set words which Goethe neverintended to be sung. This is felt still morein the scenes from the First Part, which are,
moreover, very inferior in respect of the music.The overture is the least important of all ; in
fact the merit of the work decreases graduallyas we survey it backwards from the end to thebeginning ; a circumstance corresponding to
the method pursued in its composition, whichbegan in Schumann's freshest, happiest, andmost masterly time of creativeness, and endedclose upon the time when his noble spirit wasplunged in the dark gloom of insanity.
There exist only two dramatic works of Schu-
mann's intended for the theatre : the opera of' Genoveva ' and the music to Byron's ' Manfred.'
The text of the opera may justly be objected
to, for it scarcely treats of the proper legend of
Genoveva at all ; almost all that made the story
characteristic and touching being discarded, a
fact which Schumann thought an advantage.
This may perhaps be explained by rememberinghis opinion that in an opera the greatest stress
should be laid on the representation of the
emotions, and that this object might most easily
be attained by treating the external conditions
of an operatic story as simply and broadly as
possible. He also probably felt that a great
part of the Genoveva legend is epic rather thandramatic. He was mistaken, however, in
thinking that after the reductions which hemade in the plot, it would remain sufficiently
interesting to the general public. He himself,
as we have said, arranged his own libretto.
His chief model was Hebbel's ' Genoveva,' a
tragedy which had affected him in a wonderful
way ; though he also made use of Tteck's
'Genoveva.' Besides these he took Weber's' Euryanthe ' as a pattern. The mixture of
three poems, sowidely differing from oneanother,
resulted in a confusion of motives and anuncertainty of delineation which add to the un-
interesting impression produced by the libretto.
The character of Golo, particularly, is very
indistinctly drawn, and yet on him falls almost
the chief responsibility of the drama. Thedetails cannot but suffer by such a method of
compilation as this. A great deal is taken wordfor word from Hebbel and Tieok, and their twoutterly different styles appear side by side with-
outanycompromise whatever. Hebbel, however,
predominates. Tieck's work appears in the finale
of the first act, and in the duet (No. 9) in the
second act, e.g. the line 'Du liebst mieh, holde
Braut, da ist der Tag begonuen.' Genoveva's
taunt on Golo's birth is also taken from Tieck,
although he makes the reproach come first from
Wolf and afterwards from Genoveva herself, but
without making it a prominent motive in the
drama. Beside this several Volkslieder are
interspersed. This confusion of styles is surpris-
ing in a man of such fine discrimination anddelicate taste as Schuraitnn displays elsewhere.
The chief defect of the opera, however, lies in
the music. In the opera of 'Genoveva,' the
characters all sing more or less the same kind
of music ; that which Schumann puts to the
words is absolute music, not relative, i.e. such
as would be accordant with the character of
each individual. Neither in outline nor detail
is his music sufficiently generated by the situa-
tions ofthe drama. Lastly, he lacks appreciation
for that liveliness of contrast which appears
forced and out of place in the concert-room, butis absolutely indispensable on the stage. ' Geno-
veva' has no strict recitatives, but neither is
there spoken dialogue ; even the ordinary quiet
parts of the dialogue are sung in strict time,
and usually accompanied with the fall orchestra.
Schumann considered the recitative a super-
annuated form of art, and in his other worksalso makes scarcely any use of it. This point
is of course open to dispute ; but it is not open
to dispute that in an opera, some kind of calm,
even neutral form ofexpression is wanted, which,
while allowing the action to proceed quickly,
may serve as a foil to the chief parts in whichhighly-wrought emotions are to be delineated.
The want of such a foil in ' Genoveva ' weakensthe effect of the climaxes, and with them, that
of the whole. As in the formation ofthe libretto
Schumann took ' Euryanthe ' as his model, so
as a musician he intended to carry out Weber'sintentions still farther, and to write, not anopera in the old-fashioned ordinary sense, buta music-drama, which should be purely national.
At the time when ' Genoveva ' was written, hewas utterly opposed to Italian music, not in
the way we should have expected him to be,
but exactly as Weber was opposed to it in his
time. 'Let me alone with your canary-bird
music and your tunes out of the waste-paper
basket,' he once said angrily to Weber's son,
who was speaking to him of Cimarosa's ' Matri-
monio Segreto.' But although he may nothave succeeded in producing a masterpiece of
German opera, we may appreciate with gratitude
the many beauties of the music, the noble
sentiment pervading the whole, and the constant
artistic feeling, directed only to what is true
and genuine. The finest part of the work is
the overture, a masterpiece in its kind, andworthy to rank with the classical models.
The musicto Byron's ' Manfred ' (op. 115) con-
sists of an overture, an entr'acte, melodramas,
and several solos and choruses. Byron expressly
desired the assistance of music for his work,
though not s'o much of it as Schumann has given.
SCHUMANN 381
Sohiimann inserted all the instrumental pieces
in the work, with the exception of the tunes onthe shepherd's pipe in the first act ; also therequiem heard at Manfred's death, soundingfrom the convent church. On the other hand,it is remarkable that he left the song of ' Thecaptive usurper ' in Act ii. Scene iv. withoutmusic. The whole work consists of sixteen
numbers, including the overture ; thisSchumanncomposed first of all, and probably withoutintending to write music for the drama itself.
Even here he does not evince any special gift
for dramatic writing. In the present dayByron's drama is frequently performed upon the
stage with Schumann's music, and its effective-
ness can thus be tested. The music hardly
ever serves to intensify the dramatic effects,
and yet this is all that is necessary in a drama.It appears rather to be the outcome of the
impression produced on Schumann by Byron's
poem. There is one peculiarity about the
'Manfred' music. On the stage it loses a great
part of its effect, just as, in my opinion, the
poem loses half its fantastic and weird magicby being dressed in the clumsy and palpable
illusions of a scenic representation. Theovertureis a piece of music of the most serious character,
and much more fitted for concert performance
than for assembling an audience in '^ theatre.
This is still more true of all the other pieces, so
delicate in construction and subtle in feeling,
the closing requiem by no means excluded. Andyet in the concert-room the music does not
make its due effect;partly because the hearer
is withdrawn from the influence of the action,
which is indispensable to the fuU understanding
of the whole work ; and also because in the
melodramas the spoken words and the music
which accompanies them disturb one another
more than when performed on the stage. Fromthese remarks it might be imagined that the'Manfred ' music is an inferior work ; but strange
to say such is by no means the case. It is a
splendid creation, and one of Schumann's mostinspired productions. It hovers between the
stage and the concert-room ; and, paradoxical as
it may seem, the deepest impression is produced
by reading the score, picturing in one's mindthe action and the spoken dialogue, and allowing
the music to sink deep into the ears of one's
mind. Perhaps the most striking parts of it
all are the melodramas, and among them the
deeply touching speech of Manfred to Astarte;
and these all stand out with a peculiar purity
and unity, when read as just described. They
are in a manner improvements upon those highly
poetic piano pieces of Schumann's with super-
scriptions ; and we ought to think of the words
when hearing the piece. In this music, if
nowhere else, is revealed Schumann's character-
istic struggle after the inward, to the disregard
of the outward; and we see how diametrically
opposed to his nature was the realisation of
dramatic effects where all is put into visible andtangible form. But he devoted himself to the
composition of the 'Manfred' music just as if hehad been fitted for it by nature. The poet andthe composer seem to have been destined for
one another as truly as in the case of the Faust
music, but in a different way. Byron had noidea of stage representation in writing ' Manfred'
;
he only wished his poem to be read. Its romantic
sublimity of thought, spurning all firm foothold
or support on the earth, could only find its duecompletion in music such as this, which satisfies
the requirements of neither stage nor concert-
room. That a work of art, mighty and instinct
with life, can be produced with a sublime disdain
of all limits set by circumstance, provided only
genius is at work upon it, is amply proved byByron and Schumann in this their joint produc-
tion. It has been already remarked more thanonce that the gloomy, melancholy, and passion-
ate intensity of strife in Byron's ' Manfred,
'
heightenedby contrast with the splendid descrip-
tions of nature, corresponded to the conditions of
Schumann's spirit at the time when the music
was written. And indeed a deep sympathyspeaks in every bar. But there was in Schumanna longing for peace and reconciliation, which is
wanting in Byron. This comes out very plainly
in different passages in the music, of which the
most striking is the ' Requiem ' at the close,
which sheds over the whole work a gentle gleamof glory. If we were to go into details, weshould neither know where to begin nor to end.
In January 1851 Schumann wrote to a friend,
' It must always be the artist's highest aim to
apply his powers to sacred music. But in youthwe are firmly rooted to the earth by all our
joys and sorrows ; it is only with advancing age
that the branches stretch higher, and so I hopethat the period ofmy higher efforts is no longer
distant.' He is here speaking emphatically of
{ sacred,' not of church music. Church musiche never wrote, his Mass and his Requiem not-
withstanding. It should be adapted to the
church-services, and calculated to produce its
effect in combination with the customary cere-
monial ; but sacred or religious music is intended
to turn the mind of the hearers, by its ownunaided effect, to edifying thoughts of the
eternal and divine. Of compositions of this
class we possess several by Schumann ; nor wasit in 1851 that he first began writing them.There is an Advent hymn for solo, chorus, andorchestra (op. 71), written in 1848 ; a motetfor men's voices with organ, subsequentlyarranged for orchestra (op. 93), of 1849, and aNew Year's hymn for chorus and orchestra (op.
144) of the winter of the same year ; all three
settings of poems by Friedrich Riickert. TheMass (op. 147) and the Requiem (op. 148), onthe other hand, were composed in 1852, andSchumann may have been thinking mainly of
works of this kind when he wrote the letter
382 SCHUMANN
quoted above. As a Protestant his relations to
the Mass and Requiem were perfectly unfettered
;
and in the oompositlon of these works he can
havehad no thought of their adaptation to divine
service, since even in form they exhibit peculi-
arities opposed to the established order of the
Mass. It may, however, be assumed that it was
the Catholic feeling of Diisseldorfwhich suggested
them, and that he intended the works to be
performed on certain occasions at church concerts.
The words of the Mass will always have a great
power ofelevating and inspiring anearnest artist
;
but irrespective of this, the composition of a
mass must have had a peculiar attraction for
Schumann on other grounds. A poetical interest
in the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages was
at that time widely prevalent in Germany,particularly in circles which weremost influenced
by romantic poetry, and found in the Middle
Agesthe realisation of their mostcherished ideals.
Schumann shared in this tendency ; a vein of
mystical religionism, which otherwise mighthave lain dormant, often shows itself in his later
compositions. For instance, under the nameEequiem we find the setting of a hymn, ascribed
to Heloise, the beloved of Ab^lard (op. 90,
No. 7),Eeguiescat a Itibora
Dolorosa, et amore, etc.
Other instances are the poems of Mary Stuart
(op. 135), and the Requiem for Mignon. In
the Mass he has, contrary to custom, introduced
an offertorium, TotapuUhra es, Maria, et onaeula
non est in te.
In judging of Schumann's sacred music, it is
necessary to repeat that, though the chorus is
not, strictly speaking, the musical means bywhich he was best able to express himself, yet
both custom and the character and importance
of the subject urged him to make considerable
use of it in these works. Thus they contain a
contradiction in themselves ; they are all nobly
and gravely conceived, but as choral music are
only very rarely satisfactory. The Mass, no
doubt, ranks highest, and contains much that
is very beautiful ; the ' Kyrie,' the ' Agnus,'
the beginning and end of the 'Sanotus,' and
part of the ' Creclo,' being among Schumann's
very best choral works. Unfortunately there
is less to be said for the Requiem ; we should
have expected the mere idea of a mass for the
dead to have inspired such a genius as Schu-
mann's, even without recollecting the wonderful
tones which he has found for the final requiem
in ' Manfred.' But this work was undoubtedly
written under great exhaustion ; and the iirst
romantic chorus alone makes a uniformly har-
monious impression. It closes the list of Schu-
mann's works, but it is not with this that weshould wish to complete the picture of so great
and noble a master. He once said with reference
to the Requiem, ' It is a thing that one writes
for oneself.' But the abundant treasure of
individual, pure, and profound art which he has
bequeathed to us in his other works is a more
lasting monument to his name, stupendous and
imperishable.
Among the published works that treat of
Schumann'slifeandlabours, that byWasielewski
deserves the first mention {Bohert Schumann,
eine Biographic, von Josef W. von Wasielewski ;
Dresden, R. Kunze, 1858 ; ed. 3, Bonn, E.
Strauss, 1880). Though in time it may yet
receive additions and revision, it has still the
enduring merit of giving from accurate acquaint-
ance the broad outlines of Schumann's Ufe.
[AugustReissmann'sRobertSeh/wmarm , seim,Zeben
undseine fFerke(1865, 1871, andl879)contains
analysis of many works.] Other valuable con-
tributions to his biography have been written
by Franz Hueffer, Die Poesie in der Musik(Leipzig, Leuokart, 1874) ; by Richard Pohl,
Ermnervmgen am, R. Sch/uma/rm, in the Deutsche
Revue, vol. iv., Berlin, 1878 (pp. 169 to 181,
and 306 to 317) ; by Max Kalbeck, R.
Schumann in Wien, forming the feuilletons of
the Wiemer Allgem^ine ZeUurvg of Sept. 24,
29, and Oct. 5, 1880. An accurate and sym-
pathetic essay on Schumann, Robert Schumann's
Tage und Werhe, was contributed by A. W.Ambros to the Culturhistorische Bilder aus dem,
Musikleben der Gegenwart (Leipzig, Matthes,
1860; pp. 51-96). Schumann's literary work
was reviewed by H. Deiters in the Allg.
musik. Zeitumg (Leipzig, Breitkopf & Hartel,
1866, Nos. 47-49). [The Gesammelte Schriften
reached their third edition in 1883 ; and were
translated by Fanny Raymond Ritter ; Die
Davidsbilndler hy F. 6. Jensen (1883) is full of
interest. A collection of the master's Jugend-
briefe edited by Clara Schumann, appeared in
1885, andwas translated in 1888 ; F. 6. Jensen's
Neue Folge of letters (1886) appeared as The
Life ofRobert Schumann told in his Letters, trans-
lated by May Herbert (1890). Litzmann's
biography of Clara Schumann contains muchnew information. A large selection from all the
letters was published by Dr. Karl Storck in
1907, and translated by Hannah Bryant.]
Schuberth & Co. published in 1860-61 a The-
matic Catalogue of Schumann's printed works,
extending to op. 143 only. A complete index
to all the published compositions of Schumann,with careful evidence as to the year in whicheach was written, published, and first performed,
and their different editions and arrangements,
was compiled by Alfred Dbrffel as a supple-
ment to the Musikalisches Wochenblatt (Leipzig,
Fritzsch, 1875). It is impossible to indicate
all the shorter notices of Schumann in booksand periodicals. The author of this article has
had the advantage of seeing a considerable
number T)f his unpublished letters, and of obtain-
ingmuch information at first hand from persons
who were in intimate relations with him.
SCHUMANN SCHUMANN-HEINK 383
CATALOQUE OF SCHUMANN'S PUBLISHED WORKS.[The complete edition of Breitkopf ft Hfirtel la thirty-four
-volames, edited by Clara Schumann and othere, was completed in1693 by a supplementary volume edited by Btalims.]
{All works down to op. 23, inclusive, are for pianoforte aolo.)
Op.1. Variations on the name ' Abegg.'2. Fapillons, twelve pieces.S. Six Studies after Faganinl's Caprices.4. Intermezzi, six pieces.5. Impromptus (Variations) on a theme of Clara Wleck.6. DavidsbUndlertSnze, eighteen pieces.7. Toccata.8. Allegro.9. Camaval, twenty-one pieces.
10. Six Studies after Faganini's caprioea.
11. Sonata in F sharp minor.12. FantasiestUcke, eight pieces.
13. Etudes en forme de variations (Etudes symphonjqaes).14. Sonata in F minor.15. Kinderscenen, thirteen pieces,
16. Kreisleriana, eight pieces.
17. Fantasia In C.
18. Arabeske.19. BlumenstUck.20. Humoreske.SI. Novelletten, eight pieces.
22. Sonata in G minor.23. Nachtstiicke. four pieces.
24. Liederkreis (nine songs).
25. Myrtheii, twenty-six songs.
26. Faschingsschwank aue Wien, pf. solo.
27. Lieder und GesSnge (5).
28. Three Romances for pf. solo.
29. Three Foems by Geibel (the first for two Sopranos, the second for
three sopranos, and the third [Zigeunerleben—' Gipsy Life ']
for small Chorus, Triangle, and Tambourines od lib.).
30. liiree songs to Geibel's words.31. TJaree songs to Cbamiaso's words.32. Scherzo. GIgue, Romanza, and Fughetta, for pf. aolo.
33. Six Four-part songs for men's voices.
34. Four Duets for sopr. and tenor.
35. Twelve songs to words by Eemer.36. Six songs to words by Beinick.37. Twelve songs from BUckert's ' Liebeafrilhlli^.' (Three Noa.
2, 4, and 11 are by Clara Schumann.)58. Symphony in B flat.
39. Liederkreis, twelve poems by Eichendorff.
40. Five aongB.
41. Three string qiiartets in A minor, F, and A.42. Frauenliebe und -Lebeu, songs by Chamiaso.43. Three two-part songs.
44. Quintet for pf. and strings in E flat.
45. Three Romanzen und Balladen, voice and pf.
46. Andante and variations for two pianos.
47. Quartet for pf. and strings in E flat.
48. Dichterliebe, sixteen songs by Heine.49. Three B^manzea und Balladen, voice and pf.
50. Paradise and the Feri, cantata for solo voices, chorus, and orcb.
51. Five songs.62. Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, for orch.
53. Three Bomauzen und Balladen, voice and pf
,
54. Concerto for pf. and orch.56. Five songs by Bums for mixed chorus.
56. Studies for the pedal piano, six pieces in canon.
ffr. Belsatzar, ballad by Heine.58. Four sketches for pedal piano.59. Four songs for mixed chorus.
60. Six fugues on the name Bach, for piano or organ.
61. Symphony in C, for orch.
62. "Iliree songs for male cboms.63. Trio for piano and strings in D minor.64. Three Romanzen und Balladen, voice and pf.
65. RitomeUen, canons for male chorus.
66. Bilder aus Osten, for piano, four hands.67. Five Romanzen und Balladen, for chorus.
68. Album for the young (forty pieces).
69. Six romances, for female chorus.
70. Adagio and Allegro, forpiano and horn (orvioloncello or violin).
71. Adventlied, for chorus and orchestra.
72. Pour fugues for piano.
.
73. Three FantasiestUcke for pf. and clarinet (violin or violoncello).
74. Spanisches Liwlerspiel, for vocal quartet, with pt ftcct.
75. Five Romanzen und Balladen, for chorus.
76. Four marches for pf.
77. Five songs.78. Four duets for sopr. and tenor.
79. Lieder-Album, twenty-eight songs for the young,80. Trio for pf. and strings in F.
81. Genoveva, opera in four acta.
82. Waldscenen, nine pieces for pf.
83. Three songs.
84. A Parting Song {' Es ist bestiramt '), chorus and orch.
85. Twelve piano duets, 'fUr klelne und grosse Kinder.'
86. ConcertstUck, for four horns and orch,
87. Der Handschuh, ballad for voice and pf.
88. Fom- PhantasiestUcke for pf. and vioUn and violoncello.
89. Six songs.90. Seven songs.
91. Six romances for female chorus.
92. Introduction and Allegro appassionato, pf. and orch.
93. Motet, ' Verzwelfle nicht,' double male chorus with organ acct.
94. Three romances for oboe and pf. (or violin or violoncello).
95. Three songs &om Byron's Hebrew Melodies, wltji acct. of harp
or pf.
96. Five songs.97. Symphony In E flat.
98a. Nine songs from ' Wllhelm Meister.
Op.986. Requiem flir Mignon, from the same, for chorus and orchestra.99. Bunte BlKtter for pf. (fourteen pieces).
100. Overture to ' Die Braut von Messina.'101. Minneapiel for boIo voices and pf.102. Five StUcke im Volkston for violoncello (or violin) and pf
.
103. HMchenlieder, vocal duets.104. Seven Songs.105. Sonata for pf. and vloHn, A minor.106. Sch<in Hsdwig, ballad for declamation with pf. acct.107. Six Songa.108. Nachtlied, for chorus and orch.109. Ballscenen, nine pieces for pf. duet.110. Trio for pf. and strings in G minor.HI. Three FantasiestUcke for pf.112. Der Rose Pllgerfahrt (Fllgrlmage of the Rose) for soli, chorus,
and oixh.113. MSrcheubilder, for pf. and viola (or violin),114. Three songs for female chorus.115. Music to Byron's 'Manfred.'116. Der KQnigssobn, ballad for soli, chorus, and orch.117. Four Husarenlieder, for voice and pt116. Three pf, sonatas for the young.119. Three songs.120. Symphony in D minor,121. Sonata for pf. and violin, D minor.122. Two ballads for declamation with pf. acct.123. Festival Overture on the lOieinweinlied, tor ordi.124. Albumbliitter, twenty pf. pieces.125. Five Songa.126. Seven pieces in fughetta form for pf.127. Five Songs.128. Overture to ' Julius Caes^a".'
129. Concerto for violoncello and orch.130. Eanderball, six pieces for pf. duet.131. Fhantasie for violin and orch.132. Marchenerzlthlungeu, tour pieces for pf., clarinet (or violin)
and viola,
133. GesSnge der Frilhe, five pf. pieces.
134. Concert-allegro with introduction, for pf. and orch.135. Five Gedichte der Maria Stuart, for voice aud pf.
136. Overture to ' Hermann und Dorothea.' '
137. Five hunting-songs for male chorus, with acct. of four horns.138. Spanlsche Liebeslleder, for soli, solos, with acct. of pL duet.139. Des Siingers Fluch, for soli, chorus, and orch.140. Vom Pagen und der Konigstochtej-, four ballads for soli,
chorus, and orch.141. Four songs for double chorus.142. Four songs.143. Der OlUck von Edenhall, for soli, chorus, and orch.144. Neujahrslied, for chorus and orch.145. Five Romanzen und Balladen, for chorus.146. Five Romanzen und Balladen, for chorus.147. Mass, for chorus and orch.148. Requiem, for chorus and orch.
"WlTHOTJT OpUB NtTUBEBS
Scenes from Goethe's ' Faust' for soli, chorus, and orch.Der deutflche Bhein, song with chorus.Ff. accompaniments to Mich's suites for violin alone.
The following are in the supplementary volume of the completeedition :
—
1. Andante and variations for two pianofortes, two violoncellosand horn.
2. An Anna, song.3. Ini Herbste, song.4. Hirtenknabe, song.5. Sommerruh', duet with pf. acct.
6. Five extra variations for op. 13.
7. Scherzo for pt (suppl. to op. 14).
8. Presto for pf. (suppl. to op. 22).
9. Thema in E fiat for pf
.
p g
SCHUMANN-HEINK, Ernestine,' 'nie
Boessler, was born, June 15, 1861, at Lieben,
near Prague. She was taught singing byMarietta Leclair at Graz, and on Oct. 13, 1878,made her debut at Dresden as Azuoena, remain-
ing there four years. In 1883 she was engagedat Hamburg, where she remained many years.
In 1892, as Frl. Heink, she sang with theHamburg Company both at Covent Garden, andDrury Lane, making her d^but June 8 (CoventGarden) as Erda in ' Siegfried.' Later she sangas Frioka, Waltraute, and, .July 8, as theCountess on the production in England at
Drury Lane of Nessler's ' Trompeter von Sak-kingeu.' She made a great impression, onaccount of her fine voice, combining mezzo andcontralto, and of her excellent singing andacting. From 1897 to 1900 inclusive shesang again at Covent Garden, principally inWagner parts ; July 11, 1898, the music of
the Prologue, on the production of MancineUi's