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