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Overall, a good biography
Pros:
Very well written, easy to read. Rather thouroughly documented. Sufficiently illustrated. Academic in the sense that year-long accepted "truths" about Schumann's (mental) health are questioned and challenged. After reading this book I think you have a good picture of the life (and death) of Robert Schumann.

Cons:
It's a tricky business to "diagnose" people deceased centuries ago, only based on diaries, doctor's comments, etc. (what was the level of medical expertise in Leipzig in the first half of the nineteenth century? Some of remarks by several doctor's seem to have been taken at face-value) Although Worthen makes well documented assumptions about Schumann's health, there remains an element of uncertainty and doubt. After all, you never saw the "patient"...
At times I find the book too apologetic towards Schumann. His social skills seem to have been under-developed(creating, on a personal level, problems with visitors, but also on a professional level with choirs and orchestras). Some of his works were not that great, especially some larger-scale works. For these, and other, aspects of Schumann (and his works) Worthen tries hard, but in my view not always very convincing, to find reason's and excuses. And why? Even if he wrote some lesser works, even if he wasn't very social, he is still a great composer of eternally beautiful music.

Also, at some points there are some odd remaks in this book, e.g. when Clara had a miscarriage it is stated that she was not too sad about it (at this point I would have appreciated supporting documentation). Also, the statement that Schumann was the first composer to compose for his children struck me as strange: J.S. Bach e.g. wrote Clavier-Büchlein for his son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (among other works for his other sons).

But still, 4 stars, because when you're interested in the life of the great composer Robert Schumann I think this book is one of the best available. Despite the critical remarkts above I found it hard to put this book down.

All the world is mad - save me & thee
This book is well researched & written. It is, as the title indicates, about the daily life of the great composer & his interactions with those around him. There was, for me, further information about his terminal illness, some of it rather unpleasant. It fits in with Dr Oliver Sacks recent book "mucicophilia" who observes that musicians severely incapacitated by many different cerebral diseases often have their musical memory preserved in subcortical centres which can be evoked by various techniques of speech & music therapy. This might help to explain how Schumann, and Schubert, could compose such great music while suffering from a "vile disease". There are many new, for me, insights into Robert & Clara's love life. How he managed to have seven children etc.
What I found strange was that there was only a very cursory mention of Brahms in their ménage a trois. But this would probably merit another book in itself.

Well researched and interesting
Worthen presents a very complete review of Schumann's life and character and his difficulties, both professionally - gaining recognition - and romantically. Indeed Worthen's discussion of the difficulties he and Clara overcame in getting married (eventually) read like a romance story in itself. If there is a criticism, it might be that Schumann's childhood is discussed only briefly. Worthen makes a convincing and thoroughly researched case that Schumann was not "mad" in the sense many biographers have thought. Nonetheless his last years make for sad reading.

A wonderfully insightful biography on Schumann's life and music.
This is an exceptional and fascinating biography of Schumann. Reading about his life brought renewed interest and enthusiasm for Schumann's glorious music. After reading such a book, and I could hardly put it down, I cannot think of a better outcome.
Hats off to you, John Worthen!

Detailed Biography of Schumann the Man
This is a very well written and nicely paced account of Schumann's life that draws heavily on his and Clara Schumann's diaries.Schumann's private personality emerges very nicely, and goes a long way towards dispelling the myths that were created by a tradition of biography in which the observations of those that did not know Schumann well took center stage and exaggerated the pathological elements of his personality and his eccentricities.Schumann was of course still a very unusual and unique man, but this is revealed in the context of the arc his entire life and in the context of his relationship with Clara.

This book is also a very good choice for those that are uncomfortable with the technical language of music and music notation.Schumann's music is not dealt with in these terms, but rather in the context of his life and musical development.This treatment is thorough enough, however, that those who are more familiar with music will gain much in reading it.

One quibble I have with the book is that I find Worthen's concept of manic-depressive disorder (bipolar I) very narrow, if not outright wrong at times.For example, he mentions times in which Schumann was particularly agitated and hyper-sensitive for periods of weeks or months.In doing so, he stresses that Schumann is not depressed since he is not showing the classic signs of depression that would characterize the depressive state of manic-depressive disorder, and that he was still able to work effectively through these periods.As someone who is familiar with this subject, my own thoughts are that these periods sound in fact, VERY much like dysphoric MANIC states or mixed states, which are often seen in patients with bipolar disorder and often misinterpreted by non-specialists. With this in mind, I very much doubt that this book has disproved the myth that Schumann had bipolar disorder, and in fact may make the case stronger, though I recognize the almost undeniable role that tertiary syphilis played in Schumann's final years.Worthern is very thorough in this respect, and gives very strong medical evidence to support this. ... Read more

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Eight contrasing pieces with descriptive titles comprise the ""Fantasy Pieces"", Op. 12. Although the eight pieces form a homogeneous whole, each can be played individually without loss of effect. They are challenging works with strong and unusual rhythms an melodic charm. This edition discusses the history of the collection and provides performance suggestions for each piece. ... Read more

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Schumann - A Chorus of Voices is a significant contribution to Schumann's 200th-birthday year, 2010. In these hitherto unpublished interviews and conversations, more than thirty biographers, musicians, critics, and commentators offer their own unique perspectives on Schumann's life, work, controversies, and place in the history of Romantic music. Gathered by Schumann scholar John C. Tibbetts during more than thirty years of travel and research, these intimate and informal talks take the reader "backstage" to the rehearsal hall, scholar's study, archive, and music festival. Included are musicians Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Erich Leinsdorf, Jorg Demus, Emanuel Ax, Elly Ameling, Thomas Hampson, Steven Isserlis, Marin Alsop; scholars and biographers Jacques Barzun, Nancy B. Reich, Peter Ostwald, Leon Plantinga, and Larry Todd; critics and commentators Martin Bookspan, Eugenia Zuckerman, and Maurice Sendak; and archivists Gerd Nauhaus, Ute Baer, and Joachim Draheim. ... Read more

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Praise for A Chorus of Voices
With Schumann - A Chorus of Voices, author John Tibbetts has drawn together a rich and diverse collection of perspectives, memories, and passions. The "chorus" created by these voices spans time, geography, and orientation, to create a holistic picture of Schumann's life, work, and influences that is as deep as it is broad.The volume offers a treatment of the material that can be found nowhere else, and for that reason alone is an essential part of a music history library. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

perfect
My friend had given me a site to order books from, but I wasn't able to find the score.The title is a little vague, so all these random pieces came up.Amazon.com found what I wanted, and it was affordable.They mailed it in a package that kept my book safe.

If for nothing else, buy this for Opus 68
Opus #68 is Schumann's 'Piano Pieces For Children'.It's good to have the entire set.Most students have played pieces from this set in their studies.The Wild Rider, The Happy Farmer, Knight Rupert, etc.There are some real gems in these small pieces, perfect for student recital or for sight reading practice.

The rest of the pieces in this volume vary in quality and difficulty, but for the money you can't find the same collection anywhere but Dover publishing. Recommended ... Read more

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Contained in this charming edition are 13 pieces which capture the essence of youth as well as the vast array of emotion usually conveyed in Schumann’s works. Editor Willard A. Palmer includes a review of the original autograph, explanation of phrasing and ornamentation and a useful tempo chart—all valuable information required for an accurate and precise performance. ... Read more

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Loved by my grandchildren!
I gave one of the Schumann books and CDs to my granddaughter, age 10, and the other to my grandson, age 6. They have both enjoyed listening to them SO much. And my granddaughter, who plays the piano, is excited to have the written version of all the songs. I had no idea how these gifts would be received when I gave them for Christmas, but I can tell you that they are loved and listened to over and over. I highly recommend them! ... Read more

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Included are selected works from a number of Schumann's collections such as Albumblätter (Opus 124), Album for the Young (Opus 68), Forest Scenes (Opus 82), Fantasy Pieces (Opus 12), and the complete Scenes from Childhood (Opus 15).Also included is a complete biography of Schumann, a useful preface including performance notes on each piece, and a full performance CD by the editor, Joseph Banowetz.

Joseph Banowetz graduated with a First Prize from the Vienna Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst. Banowetz has been a piano recitalist and orchestral soloist on five continents. He was awarded the Liszt Medal by the Hungarian Liszt Society in recognition of his outstanding performances of Liszt and the Romantic literature. ... Read more

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Eric Sams' study of Schumann's 246 songs (Faber 1961, revised 1993) - a companion volume to his The Songs of Hugo Wolf, also available in Faber Finds - remains a classic text. By providing a translation, commentary and notes for each of the songs, tracing original sources and relating recurring themes vividly to Schumann's life, Sams provides a unique documentary of Schumann's song-writing art.The book includes a foreword (to the First Edition) by the legendary accompanist, Gerald Moore,who writes:'So felicitous is the writing that one is hardly conscious of the erudition and profound thought that have gone into the making of it . . . Eric Sams has produced a work that will be read and read again as long as Robert Schumann's songs are loved.' ... Read more

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An original concept: in one volume, a study-size score of a major musical work, and a comprehensive body of tools for the study of that work.

Music examples and charts illustrate the analyses, and each essay is fully annotated by the editor. In some cases, the results of the original research by the editor or by others working in the field are published here for the first time. Much of the material has never before appeared in English.

A score embodying the best available musical text.

historical background—what is known of the circumstances surrounding the origin of the work, including (where relevant) original source material.

A detailed analysis of the music, by the editor of the volume or another well-known scholar.

Other significant analytic essays and critical comments, exposing the student to a variety of opinions about the music.

Customer Reviews (1)

A must for Schumann research
This book is a quick read that is full of very helpful info.I would recommend it to anyone studying or performing Schumann. ... Read more

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Advanced duet for two pianos, four hands by Robert Schumann. ... Read more

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Advanced duet for two pianos, four hands by Robert Schumann. ... Read more

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Numerous selections from Schumann's Album for the Young have long been favorites of intermediate students, and few collections fail to include the "Soldier's March," the "Happy Farmer" or the "Wild Horseman." This historically informed edition of the entire collection clearly differentiates the markings of the first edition from Clara Schumann's later-edited version. Discussions of ornamentation and the collection's origin are also included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fingering too light
This is a beautiful score and the content is interesting.The font is clear, big and easy to read.Yet, although historically interesting the gray fingering is impossible to read.Perhaps the alternate fingering could be a different color.I had to return the score for this reason.

Loved by my grandchildren!
I earlier reviewed the other Schumann's book and CD, but wanted to recommend both of them (one of them has two CDs). My grandchildren are aged 10 and 6 and love all the Schumann music on these CDs, plus my granddaughter is excited about learning the music that comes in the book. I highly recommend these wonderful combinations of book and CDs! ... Read more

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ROBERT SCHUMANN HIS LIFE AND WORK BY HERBERT BEDFORD Publishers HARPER BROTHERS New York and London 1925 , y-r Preface METHODS of writing biography may roughly be divided into three classes the voluminous and redundant, the moderate and readable, the chatty and undignified. The first class appeals to what Nietzsche tersely called u learned idlers, the second appeals to cultured people with an adequate amount of leisure, and the third to schoolgirls, frivolous minded persons and those who have no taste for literature other than that which is termed light, In the early and mid-Victorian Age, biographies run ning into three large volumes, heavy to lift and even heavier to read, were the fashion. They were emi nently characteristic of the drab dullness of that fortunately bygone age, their dullness being often accentuated through bowdlerization. Occasionally this type of biography is even to be met with now adays, when people are busier dancing than burning the midnight oil over a ponderous tome. A few years ago the life of a celebrated poet appeared in the biographical arena. This poet was a pronounced dipsomaniac, yet his biographer contrived to write his life from start to finish without even once intro ducing the word soda-water, let alone whiskey Such biographies should come under the heading of fiction, for not only do they fail to fulfil their purpose, but they mislead the public. PREFACE In the following pages Herbert Bedford has been guilty of none of the aforementioned biographical defects. His book belongs to the second and best category the moderate and readable using that word in its best sense. Nor has he been guilty of misrepresenting Schumann, and painting him with a larger and more luminous halo than he in reality possessed. And in making this statement I may perhaps permit myself to add that at the moment I am especially acquainted with the ins and outs of Schumanns life, owing to certain research work I was compelled to pursue in connection with the writing of a book on The Influence of Musk on History and Morals. In that book I attempted to show that Schumanns music exercised a marked influence on the child-mind, and helped towards a greater unity and understanding between parents and children. If this is true as I firmly believe it to be, then Herbert Bedfords book should particularly commend itself to all parents and all lovers of children, as well as to music-lovers in general CYKIL SCOTT, London f May, 1925. ROBKRT SCHUMANN 1810-1856 Contents sr Chapter PREFACE BY CYRIL SCOTT ...... v I INTRODUCTION. A SKETCH OF THE . ROMANTIC MOVEMENT IN THE ARTS . . i II ZWICKAU. BIRTH AND PARENTAGE . . 24 III 1810-1828. ZWICKAU. CHILDHOOD SCHOOL DAYS 3 Johann Gottfried Kuntzsch Ignaz Moscheles The i oth Psalm Lyceum entertainmentsLiter ary ClubDeath of his father and sister Agnes Cams School reading Jean Paul Richter. IV 1828-1829, LEIPZIG BAVARIA LEIPZIG 42 Gottlob Rudel Leipzig preparations Gisbert Rosen Dr. von Kurrer Heinrich Heine Bay reuth- Frau Paul Zwickau Leipzig Marschner Gottlob Wiedebein Friedrich Wieck Clara Wieck Johann Sebastian Bach. V 1829-1830. HEIDELBERG ..... 7 A letter from Zwickau Wilhelm Hanngr-Heidel berg Professor Thibaut Rosen and Semmel Topken Italian TourHeidelberg again Piano study Paganini Piano variations. Opus I The career of pianist decided on End of term Trip down the Rhine Leipzig again. VI 1830-1833. LEIPZIG ...... 73 Leipzig Studies with Friedrich Wieck Damage to hand Career of composer adopted-Heinrich vu CONTENTS Dorn Allegro di BravuraPapillons Rupture with Dorn Six Intermezzi Bachs fugues Sym phony in G begun Carl Friedrich Gunt herJulius Knorr Henrietta Voigt G minor piano sonata Second set of Paganini studies The Toccata fin ished Piano Impromptus Letter to Topken Extract from diary Critique from Wiener Musik alische Zeitung Death of Julius Schumann Roberts illness. VII 1834-1835... ... Read more

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Robert Schumann lived happily and pleasantly from the time he was a little boy, playing with his beloved cat, Ziff, in his home village in Saxony, until he became the famous composer, friend of Mendel ... Read more

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Complete Works, Clara Schumann Edition, Op. 1 - Op. 8 ... Read more

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Review of Schumann on Music
This book represents a wonderful cross section of Schumann's writings on his philosophy of music and critiques of specific works.Schumann, in addition to being a talented composer, was a gifted writer whose style will appeal to a wide variety of readers and whose ideas on music and musical style are as applicable today as they were in his time.His early tendency to present his ideas via conversations between the characters of the Davidsbund is extremely entertaining.This book also gives great insight into Robert Schumann the man, the musician/composer, and the philosopher/critic.

Talk about gaining fresh perspectives of the past!
It is very difficult for us to see and understand the present as a confluence of a vast array of tributaries from the past.To us it appears as the single world.It certainly has constituent parts, but we cannot readily apprehend what has been discarded and forgotten or why the things extant were remembered.The past has a flatness to it that only diligent and attentive study can remedy.Unfortunately, in music, we are forgetting almost everything because the current conglomeration of commercial activities we label music has so little in common with what the artists of the past were interested in creating and performing.

If you want evidence for my claim, you simply need to pick up this extremely valuable little book.Henry Pleasants, himself a gifted writer on music, has edited and translated some of the great Robert Schumann's writings on music.Schumann himself is suffering from an unjustified eclipse at present.He was also a wonderfully great composer of music and an insightful writer, popularizer, and critic.With all the lesser music being programmed and performed nowadays, we should get back to Schumann right away before we cheat ourselves of one of our great composers.

What is important about this collection is not what it confirms about our present tastes, or even what Schumann expresses that disagrees with our own views.What is fascinating to me is how many of the subjects he discusses have fallen from our consciousness, from our sense of history, from our artistic traditions.

Just as a few examples.Have you heard any of the John Field piano concertos?I haven't.Yet in 1836, Schumann in the guise of Florestan raves over Field's seventh piano concerto.Now, I am not saying that the Field concertos are good or bad, I have not heard them, but how could they have fallen into such complete eclipse given what is being performed nowadays?What about the concertos of Moscheles, Döhler, and Herz?(Döhler and Herz?!)

There is so much here that it brings the musical scene of Schumann's time (mid-1830s to early 1840s) to life.We get to read contemporary appraisals of works we have retained in the repertoire and works that have fallen into eclipse and others that are so far removed from our conceptions of our musical tradition that one might have to travel to a moon of Saturn to find a copy.

Unless you already have other volumes of Schumann's writings, this book deserves to be in your library.Your music education will be enriched by spending a few hours reading these short articles and thinking about what they mean about our understanding of the past and our sense of musical tradition in our present. ... Read more

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This Companion is an accessible up-to-date introduction to Schumann: his time, his temperament, his style and his œuvre. An international team of scholars explores the cultural context, musical and poetic fabric, sources of inspiration and interpretative reach of key works from the Schumann repertoire ranging from his famous lieder and piano pieces to chamber, orchestral and dramatic works. Additional chapters address Schumann's presence in nineteenth- and twentieth-century composition and the fascinating reception history of his late works. Tables, illustrations, a detailed chronology and advice on further reading make it an ideally informative handbook for both the Schumann connoisseur and the music lover. An excellent textbook for the university student of courses on key composers of nineteenth-century Western Classical music, it is an invaluable guide for all who are interested in the thought, aesthetics and affective power of one of the most intriguing figures of a culturally rich and formative period. ... Read more

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Scholarly guide to the works and philosophies of a musical genius.
Expertly compiled and edited by Beate Perry, "The Cambridge Companion to Schumann" is an up-to-date introduction showcasing the work of nineteenth and twentieth-century classical composer Robert Schumann. An anthology of essays by learned authors discuss topics ranging from "Life and literature, poetry and philosophy: Robert Schumann's aesthetics of music" to "Novel symphonies and dramatic overtures", while other in-depth discussions of Schumann's musical works include "Schumann in his time and since." A very highly recommended, essential addition to academic and university music department reference collections, "The Cambridge Companion to Schumann" is enhanced with extensive notes, an index, and a few measures of musical notation round out this scholarly guide to the works and philosophies of a musical genius.
... Read more

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Fantasy Pieces examines from several vantage points a vital life-force of Robert Schumann's music, namely metrical conflict. Harald Krebs's imaginative yet rigorous study makes use of Schumann's fascinating projections of his own personality--the characters Florestan and Eusebius--as one means of addressing the biographical and aesthetic context of the music.

In counterpoint with the remarks of these personae, Krebs develops an original theory of metrical conflict by adapting the concepts of consonance and dissonance to metrical analysis. He investigates how states of metrical dissonance arise, and shows how they are manipulated and resolved in the course of compositions. He offers new methods for understanding the metrical progressions of entire works or movements, and studies the interaction of metrical conflict with form, with pitch structure, and with the texts of Schumann's vocal works. Krebs includes a wealth of illustrations from the whole range of Schumann's work and offers numerous insights important for performance. In the final chapter, he provides richly detailed studies of pieces by Schumann in various genres, interspersing them with shorter discussions of music by Berlioz, Chopin, Clara Schumann, Ives, and Schoenberg.

This is a book that will appeal not only to students and scholars of music theory, but to all musicians interested in the life, work, and unique personality of Robert Schumann. ... Read more

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Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, one of today's great interpreters of vocal music, examines Schumann's life in relation to his entire vocal oeuvre. The songs, his only opera, Genoveva, his secular oratorios, the Scenes from Goethe's Faust, Manfred, and the Mass and Requiem are all given careful consideration, with suggestions for interpretation. HARDCOVER.Amazon.com Review
Unlike most famous performers who write books, predominantly memoirs, when they retire, the German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau turned to writing at the peak of his career, and his subject was not his life (that came later) but the art form with which he was most closely associated: the lied or art song. (It's interesting that the German word Lied, though it simply means "song," has entered the English language as if it denoted a separate, distinct vocal genre.) Fischer-Dieskau, one of the greatest Lieder singers of our time, had always been attracted to expressing himself in both words and music; his interpretations, too, emphasized their equal importance, their interaction and interdependence. For his first book, a compilation of Texts of German Songs, his only original contribution was the introduction, cast in the convoluted, abstruse style typical of scholarly German writing. In the next one, Schubert's Songs: A Biographical Study, he discarded this complexity; expressed simply and naturally, his love, knowledge, and understanding of his subject suffuse every page. The present book on Schumann's vocal works seems inspired not only by his affinity for the songs, but for a man who, like Fischer-Dieskau himself, was drawn equally to literature and music: a poet and a tone-poet, who chose his texts with care and discriminating literary taste, and achieved a true melding of tone and word, as well as a true partnership between voice and piano.

The book is excellent, clearly organized, filled with penetrating and illuminating insights. Fischer-Dieskau discusses Schumann's artistic development, changing style, and influence on future song composers. His analyses of virtually every work are detailed and exhaustive, though sometimes they seem to read too much psychological meaning into every harmonic and melodic turn. Despite copious musical examples, it is advisable to have the music at hand. Schumann's settings of a poem are compared with those of other composers, tracing similarities and influences and listing all the changes he made to his texts. There are biographies of the poets for whose verses Schumann composed and descriptions of his relationship with them, whether direct or indirect. The author's knowledge is encyclopedic, yet he never flaunts it. He rejects the long-held idea that Schumann's deteriorating health brought about a parallel decline in his creative power. On the contrary, he asserts that Schumann was striving for a new, simpler, leaner style, and that his late works have a deeply moving inwardness and concentration that make their neglect both unjust and unfortunate.

Though the book focuses on Schumann's music, it naturally includes biographical elements. It recounts the familiar events of his life, giving more than usual attention to the inevitable problems of a marriage between two people of supreme but very different gifts and the mutual accommodations necessary for their often unfairly disparate artistic success. It also presents Schumann's illness in a different light, locating its onset much earlier in his life than is generally assumed and adding a new causative and aggravating component: alcoholism. However, there seems to be no documentary or contemporary evidence to back this up. Fischer-Dieskau himself admits that "one did not speak of such things" in those days, but does not indicate the source of his information. And even this sympathetic, circumspect biographer cannot resist the temptation to mention Schumann's secret distress at the "infatuation" of their "house-guest," Johannes Brahms, with Schumann's wife, Clara, though her diaries mention no such hospitality, nor does anything she wrote about Brahms, then or later, justify credence in an "infatuation."

Reinhard Pauly's English version reads well, but there are occasional errors in punctuation and frequently serious mistranslations of the German song titles and quotations from the poetry. The book is beautifully laid out, with many pictures as well as reproductions of Schumann's manuscript pages. --Edith Eisler ... Read more