Part 28

Schumann was fortunate in being so well situated pecuniarily that he was not obliged to earn his living during the years of the development of his genius. After his return to Leipsic he studied in private, surrounding himself with a few talented friends. Not content with their own mutual instruction in the spirit and beauty of old masterworks, and the enthusiastic appreciation of the productions of younger composers; firmly believing in the possibility of a new and brilliant epoch of musical art, these young men desired to do all in their power to realize their hopes. In pursuance of this idea they started a magazine, "Die neue Zeitschrift für Musik," which for many years was destined to exercise a wide influence in Germany. Its principal mission was to plead for a more poetic conception of music, and this cause was presented in an entirely new poetic language. Poetry and prose, reality and fiction were combined in a very ingenious manner. A society of Davidites was founded, more in fiction than reality, not confined to a circle of enthusiasts, but comprising all the old masters as well as those then living, Mozart and Bach as well as Berlioz, Chopin and Mendelssohn. All writers of meaningless trivialities or dry, unpoetic formalities were attacked as "Philistines." In a similar way Schumann combined fiction and reality in this literary occupation by substituting for his own individuality three different characters, to personify the different sides of his nature, Florestan representing all that was passionate, manly, energetic; Eusebius embracing all that was sweet, tender or imaginative; with the more objective, experienced and reconciling figure of old Raro, acting as moderator of both. Some years before this paper was started, Schumann had made his literary debut by contributions to other magazines, his first work, when he was twenty-one years old, being that glorious article on Chopin's opus 2, giving a most poetic record of the feeling which the music of the rising genius had awakened within him. His own paper made its first appearance in April, 1834, and Schumann, who soon became its sole editor and proprietor, kept this position until 1844, when he took up his residence in Dresden. That small portion of his time which was unoccupied with journalistic work, was devoted to composing, the fruits being a number of piano works of striking originality and of a great variety of moods and forms.

Although Schumann's musical and literary occupations laid strong claim to his time and attention, yet much of his interest was absorbed by affairs of a private nature. For years he had watched closely the development of Clara Wieck; but warm as his feelings were for her, there was another young woman who for a while took possession of his heart, Ernestine von Fricken, daughter of a Bohemian baron from Asch, a name made famous through Schumann's "Carnival scenes," which are mostly based on the four notes corresponding with the letters of that town (also the only musical letters in his own name). This engagement was, however, broken in 1835, and the following years, so rich in musical and literary productions, were also marked by a continuous struggle for that wonderful artist, Clara Wieck, whose name was to become inseparably united with his own. Not only from his letters, but also from many compositions, we learn the extent of Schumann's sufferings from Wieck's obstinate refusal to give his daughter to one who had not yet gained a safe position and who was so far known more as a critic than as a composer. Schumann tried everything to improve his position, publishing his paper for a while in Vienna but without finding the desired success, and, after his return to Leipsic, procuring from the university of Jena the honorary degree of doctor of philosophy, on the ground of his writings and efforts in the interest of art. His stay in Vienna was not without influence on his future development as a composer, and it had, besides this, the great result of bringing to light some of Schubert's finest compositions, especially the symphony in C, which Schumann not only sent at once to Mendelssohn for its first glorious performance, but presented to the world in all its beauty through a wonderful article published in his magazine. His doctor diploma, dated Feb. 24, 1840, speaks in the highest terms of his merits as a composer and critic.

With all his efforts and his growing popularity, Schumann could not gain favor in the eyes of father Wieck; only after a long term of legal proceedings were the happy pair united in marriage, their wedding being celebrated in a church near Leipsic in Sept., 1840. It was a union of greatest importance not only to themselves but to music. Both were true companions in an ideal struggle, true Davidites and priests of art, Clara Schumann not only continuing her career as a splendid interpreter of the classics of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin and Schumann, but at the same time tenderly watching over her husband's health and temper, which was marked by a growing irritability. Honor though it was to be Robert Schumann's wife, it required a great character and supreme devotion. Looking at his happy family life, reading his expressions of gratitude, esteem and love for his wife; hearing those who have seen him play with his children, once more we say that it is not only the artist, but the man Schumann for whom we feel a deep sympathy and esteem. Yet his disposition was not wholly free from features of a less agreeable nature. His sensitiveness and taciturnity often made him appear in an unsympathetic light, or offend those who meant well with him. But this was only a sign of the deep-rooted disease, which developed so steadily and which so early wrecked his mind and body.

The culmination of Schumann's happiness being attained, his creative powers increased wonderfully. Now he felt compelled to confide the music of his soul to the human voice and suddenly appeared as a great master in a new field, by producing a wealth of songs, perfectly original in style, form and spirit. Love, of course, plays a prominent but not exclusive part in them. Yet his genius was seeking for still higher fields and larger forms. The following year was devoted to the composition of great orchestral works, three symphonies (two of which were published much later in different shape) and the first movement of the pianoforte concerto. In this higher sphere Schumann again proved himself a master, the first symphony in B-flat, given most successfully under Mendelssohn's direction, showing his genius at once in the most brilliant light. This fever for composing did not in the least abate in 1842, the year devoted to chamber music, when he wrote the three string quartets, the quintet and quartet for pianoforte and strings, which were unsurpassed by any later efforts. Far from being exhausted, in 1843 he completed besides the famous variations for two pianofortes, the great cantata "Paradise and the Peri." It was received most enthusiastically, and its success stimulated him to write a similar work of still higher order, the musical setting of the most difficult and mysterious scenes from the second part of Goethe's "Faust." Meanwhile he had continued the work for his musical journal, accompanied his wife to concerts in Hamburg and Russia, where he was highly honored as a composer, and had also filled a position as professor for pianoforte and composition at the new Conservatory opened in April, 1843, with Mendelssohn as director. Of this latter work of Schumann little has become known, and from his uncommunicative nature one has inferred that he lacked the talent of a true teacher. In 1844 he severed his connection with the Conservatory and with his journal also, and took up his residence in Dresden. Overwork and the exerting musical life in Leipsic had greatly increased his nervousness and he expected a speedy recovery in the royal capital, with its lovely surroundings and quiet life. However it took years to fully restore him. Yet in these very years Schumann wrote his glorious symphony in C, and devoted much time to strict contrapuntal studies, composing several works in this style. He finally took a more active part in Dresden's social life, keeping a friendly intercourse with other musicians, poets and artists, and a sincere interest in the opera, then directed by young Wagner. At that time the reform of the musical drama was in Dresden the centre of all musical interests, and Schumann felt a deep desire to solve the great problem in his own way.

We shall speak below more extensively about his only opera "Genoveva." Although it was completed in Dresden, in 1848, it had its first performance in the summer of 1850, in Leipsic, under his own direction. It was repeated there a few times, but was undeniably a great disappointment in spite of all its musical beauties. Schumann was deeply affected, disagreeing entirely with the critics as to the dramatic character of his work. Much more successful were the first performances of his music to "Faust," presented at the centenary of Goethe's birthday in Dresden, Leipsic and Weimar. Several years later Schumann added more numbers, but the entire work was given in its present shape only after his death.

In the winter of 1846-47, Robert and Clara Schumann made a trip to Vienna, where the latter played her husband's concerto (completed in 1845), and he conducted his first symphony. The Viennese admired her playing but showed far less appreciation for his music than the North Germans or even the Russians. In 1847, Schumann succeeded Hiller as director of the Dresden "Liedertafel," and in 1848 he started a mixed chorus, which afforded him more genuine pleasure than the male chorus. With them he gave the Faust music, and "Paradise and the Peri," studied Beethoven's great Mass in D, and began to believe in his abilities as a conductor to such a degree, that when, in 1849, it was rumored that Rietz, Mendelssohn's successor in Leipsic, was going to Berlin, Schumann eagerly applied for the high position. Rietz, however, remained. During these last years in Dresden, Schumann had finished a large number of chamber works, songs, duets, male, female and mixed choruses with or without accompaniment, piano pieces, and the music to Byron's "Manfred."

In 1850, Hiller again recommended Schumann to become his successor as director of the orchestral and choral concerts in Düsseldorf, and a call being extended, it was readily accepted by the composer. For such a work he had neither the natural gifts nor the necessary preparation, his conducting being hesitating, his way of rehearsing not in the least instructive. Fluent as was his style in writing, he lacked the gift of easily imparting his ideas. However, he was received with high honors and for three seasons performed his new duties, also several times taking part in the great vocal festivals. All his works were listened to with delight; nevertheless it constantly became more evident that he was unfit for the position, and in 1853 his engagement was not renewed, the decision affecting him deeply. A visit to Leipsic made by the artists in 1852 for the performance of several novelties, was also rather disappointing, while the triumphant tour through Holland, at the end of 1853, forms the last sunny period of Schumann's life.

In these years he had composed feverishly, some of the results being such great and famous productions as the Rhenish symphony, the cantata, "the Pilgrimage of the Rose," several overtures, ballads for soli, chorus and orchestra, a mass, a requiem, several chamber works, songs, melodramas and pianoforte pieces. He also planned writing another opera on Schiller's "Bride of Messina" or Gœthe's "Hermann and Dorothea," or a great popular oratorio on "Luther," but was forced to abandon the scheme. He was happiest amongst his children and was as talkative with them as reticent with others. Yet his old interest in new talents remained unabated and the way in which he encouraged young musicians, such as Reinecke, Meinardus, Dietrich, Joachim and especially Brahms, shows him in a most amiable light. But all this time that mysterious influence which had so early affected his mind, was daily gaining in strength. He was troubled so much by nervousness, a feeling of permanent anxiety, and even by hallucinations, that he became desirous of a medical treatment in a hospital. One night he rushed from his bed to write down a theme just sent to him by the spirits of Schubert and Mendelssohn. Nor was he free from superstitions, for instance passionately taking part in the practice of table moving. On February 22, 1854, soon after dinner, without any warning he left his house and the society of a few friends, to seek his final rest in the floods of the Rhine. Saved by sailors, he recovered full possession of his faculties only for a few days, in which he wrote one variation on the theme of that strange night. During the two last years of his life he was confined in a private hospital near Bonn. There a few friends such as Joachim and young Brahms were admitted to see the beloved master, so sadly afflicted both physically and mentally. His darkened mind became clear only at rare intervals, when he would sit at the piano, once more seeking a musical expression for the strange world of thoughts within him. But soon all visits from friends were forbidden, and the wife of the great composer saw him only to close his eyes and bid him a last farewell. He died July 2, 1856, only forty-six years old. In Bonn, where he is buried, a beautiful monument by Donndorf is erected in his memory.

In appearance Schumann was rather tall and stately, calm and slow in his movements, the face, with deep, melancholy eyes and rich dark hair, being quite expressive, but seldom betraying the emotions of his soul, the wealth and depth of his imagination or the exquisite wit and humor, so often encountered in his works. Certain odd peculiarities of his personal and artistic character, which became more apparent when his health began to fail, can not impair the general impression of his true nature as manifested in the achievements of his happier days. If we remember how late Schumann entered upon a musical career, how late he enjoyed a thorough theoretical instruction, how much he has also done in the field of literature, how early his health began to be impaired, and at what an early age he was called away, we are astonished at the mass of his works, so many of them of the widest scope and importance, which place his name among the noblest and greatest masters.

In a certain sense Schumann's works may be regarded as a musical commentary on his life. This is particularly true of his earlier pianoforte compositions. Being neither the result of theoretical studies nor the imitation of favorite masters, they were of a surprising originality, melodically, rhythmically and harmonically, and revealed a new spirit in a new form in spite of all relationship to Schubert's small character pieces, Beethoven's last sonatas or Bach's polyphonic style. They were not only new, but bold and full of a higher significance. Schumann was never at a loss for ideas, but, being familiar with every style of pianoforte playing from Bach's to Moscheles' and Chopin's, and aiming at the career of a virtuoso, he wrote from the beginning in a very difficult style, rich in wonderful new effects and combinations. Sometimes we find a "pearl of great price" hidden beneath a wealth of ornament of unusual beauty, novelty and poetic significance. So peculiar indeed is the style of these pianoforte works, that special technical study is required in order to do them justice.

Like all our great composers, Schumann frequently makes use of variations, of course not in Henri Herz's manner, but in Beethoven's, creating out of one original idea a series of characteristic pieces, strongly contrasted in form and spirit. In Heidelberg, long before his studies with Dorn, he wrote those on A-b-e-gg, dedicated to a countess of this name, who, however, was in reality nothing but a modest, untitled young lady, with whom he had become acquainted at a ball. The Impromptu (Op. 5), on a theme of Clara Wieck, belongs to this class also. But of much greater importance are the two works, in which he best showed the peculiar character of his pianoforte virtuosity, the Symphonic Studies (Op. 13) and the Andante with variations for two pianofortes (Op. 46). The extremely interesting treatment in these works is very free, but always ingenious, and the technical and intellectual difficulties are very great.

Rarely one meets with a long cantilena, in Schumann's earlier works, the material generally having a short, somewhat fragmentary character, often consisting of but a few notes, though treated with a wealth of rhythmical or harmonical combinations. There is also a great variety of moods, and the contrasts are not only very distinct, but often unexpected and sudden. As a dreamer full of sweetest or saddest thoughts he is not less touching than as a musical knight of the most chivalrous spirit or as a humorist such as Beethoven. Nowhere can one find a finer exhibition of that peculiar German humor which "laughs through tears," than in Schumann's charming "Humoreske" (Op. 20). The arrangements of the Paganini caprices and studies have a more pedagogic purpose, while the great Toccata (Op. 7) and the Allegro (Op. 8) may be called Schumann's noblest contributions to the literature of bravoura-pieces. More characteristic of his individuality, however, are those works with which his name as a musical poet will always remain especially connected--"Papillons," "Carnival," "Davidsbündlertänze," "Phantasiestücke," "Scenes from Childhood," "Kreisleriana" and "Noveletten." Distinct pictures of his poetical imagination form their object, yet it is well to remember the composer's emphatic declaration, that the music originated in his mind and was written down before he even thought of the title, which he afterward gave the composition. Yet so wonderfully appropriate are many of these titles, that it is often impossible not to perceive their meaning in the music. What an inexhaustible wealth of musical ideas is hidden in all these productions, how many new rhythmical combinations, how many "sweetest discords"! Who has ever understood how to show so much depth of feeling and originality of thought, such a rich imagination within such narrow limits as has Schumann, particularly in the "Papillons" and "Carnival"! One feels that much of his own life's experience, much of the romance of his heart is embodied in this music. Thus the "Davidsbündlertänze" are by no means "dances," but the Davidites' knightly fights against the Philistines, nor are the "Kreisleriana" a portrayal of the eccentric Capellmeister in E. T. A. Hoffmann's tale, but the expression of Schumann's own enthusiastic, romantic, many-sided nature and of the ever-varying moods of his soul. In the Novelettes he tells us, in a most pleasing and spirited language, the story of his struggle for Clara's heart. The Phantasiestücke contain veritable gems among modern pianoforte music, such as "Evenings," "Why," "Traumeswirren" and "Aufschwung." The utmost delicacy of sentiment and fineness of musical expression are found in the "Scenes from Childhood," which are not meant as compositions for children, but as musical genre pictures from the children's life. Other fine pieces such as "Arabeske," "Blumenstück," "Nachtstücke," may be only mentioned, though each deserves a detailed analysis.

In three Sonatas Schumann has attempted to force the wealth of his imagination into an old classic form, but as he had not then perfected himself in the latter, and besides wrote the single movements at wide intervals, he could hardly be expected to make a complete success. The material is almost crowded, the development often lacks coherence, the different portions are not of equal value; and yet, considering these productions as free music, we recognize again the composer's vast powers of invention and combination, his passionate energy, delicacy of sentiment and brilliancy of style. Of these sonatas, the one in G minor is generally praised as the best. On a higher plane we place the great fantasia in C, Op. 17, dedicated to Liszt. Here Schumann's imagination was free from strict formal fetters; the four movements keep one's interest evenly and keenly alive, and, apparently written in hours of inspiration, they go directly from heart to heart. The earnest, noble character and lofty spirit of this work remind us indeed of Beethoven, to whose monument Schumann had first intended to contribute it as an "obolus." Its difficulties are such, that only eminent players are able to master them and make the meaning of the music clear.

Among Schumann's later pianoforte compositions the following are best known: the lively, fanciful "Faschingsschwank," composed in Vienna during the carnival; three romances, of which the one in F-sharp is particularly famous; some fugues and other pieces in strict contrapuntal style; the "Scenes from the Woods" (among which is the odd "Bird as Prophet"); "Bunte Blätter"; "Phantasiestücke"; "20 Album Leaves" (including the popular cradle song); and "Gesänge der Frühe"; "Three little Sonatas," dedicated to his daughters, and the well known "Album for the Young," with its forty-three charming pieces, are certainly among the most valuable works ever written for children.

Of the compositions for four hands none deserves more sympathy than the charming "Pictures from the Orient," inspired by Rückert's "Makamen des Hariri," certainly in no way inferior to the famous "Evening Song" from the twelve pieces Op. 85, while the elaborate "Ball Scenes" and the easier "Children's Ball" were written at a later period.

The pianoforte concerto in A minor ranks directly after Beethoven's. It has a truly symphonic character, especially in the first and last movements, the orchestra accompaniment being not less important than the brilliant solo part, while the middle movement, Intermezzo, seems even like a lovely solo for the violoncello with piano accompaniment. Two more concert pieces for pianoforte with orchestra are an Allegro appassionato (Op. 92) and a Concert Allegro with Introduction (Op. 134), the latter dedicated to Joh. Brahms.