Eric Frederick Jensen - Schumann

THE MASTER MUSICIANS

SCHUMANN

SERIES EDITED BY R. LARRY TODD
FORMER SERIES EDITOR, THE LATE STANLEY SADIE

THE MASTER MUSICIANS

Titles Available in Paperback

Bach Malcolm Boyd

Beethoven Barry Cooper

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THE MASTER MUSICIANS

ERIC FREDERICK JENSEN

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978-0-19-973735-2

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
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THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY BROTHER, GROVER.

The songs I had are withered
Or vanished clean,
Yet there are bright tracks
Where I have been,

And there grow flowers
For others delight.
Think well, O singer,
Soon comes night.

Ivor Gurney

SCHUMANNS CONTEMPORARIES WOULD BE ASTONISHED BY THE AMOUNT of interest in him today. To some, he was the composer of bizarre and often peculiar works for piano. To others, he was the composer of chamber music and symphonies too conventional and traditional in basis. To most, he was better known as a music critic than as a composer. Few would have considered him among the most significant composers of his day, preferring instead Mendelssohn or Spohr, Meyerbeer or Wagner.

Yet, Schumann is increasingly regarded not just as a composer of stature but as one of the leading figures of German Romanticism. The past decades have witnessed a phenomenal growth of interest in him and his music. A new scholarly edition of his compositions is in progress. A revised thematic catalogue of his work and complete editions of his correspondence and music criticism are being planned. A great number of scholarly articles and monographs have appeared, as well as recordings of virtually all of his music.

But Schumanns move to prominence has been a slow process. In 1854, he had a nervous breakdown (one of three over a twenty-year period), and at his own request was placed in a mental institution to recover. He died there two years later. Mental illness in the Victorian era was regarded with fear, suspicion, and abhorrence. Schumann was suddenly seen as a pathetic figure whose mental instability had marred much of his work. This attitude was one that lingered forcefully for much of the twentieth century. It was complemented by a maudlin view especially popular in the English-speaking world: Schumann the Romantic tone-poet, the sentimental creator of Trumerei.

Conflicting perceptions of Schumann emerged during the first half of the twentieth century, primarily a result of social and political turmoil in Germany. When Schumanns private papers and journals (he maintained a copious series of diaries) became available for examination, they fell into the hands of Nazi scholars. Their studies, filled with fabrications and lies, presented Schumann as a model Aryan and devout anti-Semite. During World War II, many of Schumanns personal documents were lost or displaced. A substantial portion of those that survived were in East Germany, and Marxist scholars then put them to use. Schumann became a courageous champion of The People.

A more truthful view of Schumann only began to emerge in 1971, when the first of his diaries was published. The remaining diaries appeared sixteen years later; Schumanns household books (diaries of a sort) were published in 1982. A scholarly editionstill in progressof Schumanns correspondence with his future wife, Clara Wieck, was begun in 1984. At last, nearly a century and a half after his death, it became possible to view him in his own words, and the picture that resulted differed substantially from those that previously had been available.

Rather than dreaming his life away at the piano, Schumann was an indefatigable worker driven by ambition. His compositions confirm itwell over 150 works, many of substantial length, during approximately twenty years. But more significant than their number is their variety. Throughout his career, Schumann challenged himself to explore new genres. He could easily have specialized in piano compositions or songs, as did many of his contemporaries. Instead, he made a point of attempting something new, whether in traditional forms such as opera or symphony, or in genres of his own creation, such as the choral ballads of his last years. In each case, Schumanns efforts were not the result of commissionshe often had no idea if his compositions would be performedbut were self-imposed.

Schumann seemed content only when he set new standards for himself. But, as the diaries and household books reveal, he was also concerned with the business of music. The music journal he founded and edited, the Neue Zeitschrift fr Musik, was profitable and steadily increased in sales. Its success was almost entirely the result of Schumanns own efforts. In his compositions, Schumann reckoned on similar financial success. His move from piano compositions to songs, for example, was intended in part because of his hope to earn more money as a song writer.

What makes Schumanns accomplishments even more remarkable are the circumstances surrounding them. His success as a music critic was a mixed blessing. While he found much gratification as a writer (and helped to create a market for the new music of his day, often in the face of substantial opposition), he would have preferred to spend more of his time composing. Often work on compositions had to wait while a deadline was met for his criticism. Financial concerns were always present, and he earned more as a music critic than as a composer.

In addition, Schumann suffered from depression, so severe that at times work of any sort was impossible. But he was not the madman the nineteenth century created. By modern standards, it seems likely that his mental illness could have been managed, if not cured. The treatment he received only exacerbated his condition, making his final years an ordeal, and his confinement in a mental institution a nightmare come true.