Robert Schumann

Books about Robert Schumann and his music

John Worthen Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician Yale University Press, 2007; ISBN 0300111606; 496 pages This candid, intimate, and compellingly written new biography offers a fresh account of Robert Schumann’s life. It confronts the traditional perception of the doom-laden Romantic, forced by depression into a life of helpless, poignant sadness. John Worthen’s scrupulous attention to the original sources reveals Schumann to have been an astute, witty, articulate, and immensely determined individual, who—with little support from his family and friends in provincial Saxony—painstakingly taught himself his craft as a musician, overcame problem after problem in his professional life, and married the woman he loved after a tremendous battle with her father. Schumann was neither manic depressive nor schizophrenic, although he struggled with mental illness. He worked prodigiously hard to develop his range of musical styles and to earn his living, only to be struck down, at the age of forty-four, by a vile and incurable disease.   Worthen’s biography effectively de-mystifies a figure frequently regarded as a Romantic enigma. It frees Schumann from 150 years of mythmaking and unjustified psychological speculation. It reveals him, for the first time, as a brilliant, passionate, resolute musician and a thoroughly creative human being, the composer of arguably the best music of his generation. (20080601) Price indication: $ 26.40

John Daverio Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age" Oxford University Press, 1997; ISBN 0195091809; 624 pages Forced by a hand injury to abandon a career as a pianist, Robert Schumann went on to become one of the world's great composers. Among many works, his Spring Symphony (1841), Piano Concerto in A Minor (1841/1845), and the Third, or Rhenish, Symphony (1850) exemplify his infusion of classical forms with intense, personal emotion. His musical influence continues today and has inspired many other famous composers in the century since his death. Indeed Brahms, in a letter of January 1873, wrote: "The remembrance of Schumann is sacred to me. I will always take this noble pure artist as my model." Now, in Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age," John Daverio presents the first comprehensive study of the composer's life and works to appear in nearly a century. Long regarded as a quintessentially romantic figure, Schumann also has been portrayed as a profoundly tragic one: a composer who began his career as a genius and ended it as a mere talent. Daverio takes issue with this Schumann myth, arguing instead that the composer's entire creative life was guided by the desire to imbue music with the intellectual substance of literature. A close analysis of the interdependence among Schumann's activities as reader, diarist, critic, and musician reveals the depth of his literary sensibility. Drawing on documents only recently brought to light, the author also provides a fresh outlook on the relationship between Schumann's mental illness--which brought on an extended sanitarium stay and eventual death in 1856--and his musical creativity. Schumann's character as man and artist thus emerges in all its complexity. The book concludes with an analysis of the late works and a postlude on Schumann's influence on successors from Brahms to Berg. This well-researched study of Schumann interprets the composer's creative legacy in the context of his life and times, combining nineteenth-century cultural and intellectual history with a fascinating analysis of the works themselves. Price indication: $ 58.00

John Daverio Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, & Brahms Oxford University Press, 2003; ISBN 0195132963 Price indication: $ 51.70

Henry Pleasants Schumann on Music : A Selection from the Writings Dover Publications, 1988; ISBN 0486257487; 208 pages Price indication: $ 9.95

Peter Ostwald Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius Northeastern University Press, 1987; ISBN 1555530141; 392 pages After obtaining access to long sought-after archival material about the final years of Robert Schumann, Lise Deschamps Ostwald, the author's widow, is finally able to detail the composer's last years at the mental institution in Endenich, fulfilling her husband's original intent. Price indication: $ 27.95

Gerd Nauhaus and Peter Ostwald The Marriage Diaries of Robert & Clara Schumann: From Their Wedding Day Through the Russia Trip Northeastern Univ Pr, 1993; ISBN 1555531717; 256 pages For the first four years of their marriage, from 1840 to 1844, Robert and Clara Wieck Schumann kept a detailed account of their lives together. Now available in English for the first time, this edition of the complete marriage diaries reveals the strains as well as the happiness of the union of the two renowned musicians. Price indication: $ 95.44

Boman Desai Trio 2: A Novel about the Schumanns and Brahms Authorhouse, 2006; ISBN 1425935923 Price indication: $ 25.45

Anton Neumayr Music and Medicine: Hummel, Weber, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner: On Their Lives, Works, and Medical Histories Medi-Ed Press, 1995; ISBN 0936741074 Price indication: $ 34.95

Richard, Miller Singing Schumann: An Interpretive Guide for Performers Oxford University Press, 2006; ISBN 0195181972; 264 pages To restrict performance of the Schumann Lieder to the "familiar forty" is to deprive the singer and pianist of a major reservoir of superior song. Thus Singing Schumann not only takes an in-depth look at the widely performed middle and late Lieder, it also fully reconsiders the early songs. Offering the same readability and informed insights in this volume that distinguished his acclaimed On the Art of Singing (OUP 1996), Miller presents a practical manual to help singers and pianists bring Robert Schumann's Lieder to life in performance. He also provides cogent suggestions for interpretation of all of Schumann's solo and duet songs, useful pointers that are grounded in a thorough understanding of Schumann's compositional style and its full historical background. Price indication: $ 24.95

David Ferris Schumann's Eichendorff Liederkreis and the Genre of the Romantic Cycle Oxford University Press, 2000; ISBN 0195124472; 288 pages Price indication: $ 74.00

Nicholas Marston and Julian Rushton Schumann: Fantasie, Op. 17 (Cambridge Music Handbooks) Cambridge University Press, 1992; ISBN 0521398924; 131 pages Price indication: $ 24.99

Beate Julia Perrey and Ian Bent Schumann's Dichterliebe and Early Romantic Poetics : Fragmentation of Desire (Cambridge Studies in Music Theory and Analysis) Cambridge University Press, 2003; ISBN 0521814790; 262 pages Price indication: $ 90.00

Eric, Frederick Jensen Schumann (Master Musicians Series) Oxford University Press, 2004; ISBN 0195182979; 408 pages Robert Schumann, one of the most beloved composers of the Romantic movement, embodied the passion and imaginative spirit of his age. Known for his musical and literary genius and his legendary romance with his wife Clara, Schumann was also plagued with debilitative bouts of depression that led him to live his last days in a German mental asylum. This important new biography recreates the dynamics of this man and his music with unprecedented range, offering new insight into his final years and his lasting musical achievements. Drawing on Schumann's recently published journals, letters, and new research, author Eric Jensen renders a balanced portrait of the composer with both scholarly authority and engaging clarity. Biographical chapters alternate with commentary on Schumann's piano, choral, symphonic, and operatic works, demonstrating how the circumstances of his life helped shape the music he wrote at various periods. Chronicling the forbidden romance of Robert and Clara, Jensen offers a nuanced look at the evolution of their relationship. He also follows Schuman's creative musical criticism, which championed the burgeoning careers of Chopin, Liszt, and Brahms and challenged the musical tastes of nineteenth-century Europe. Most importantly, he presents new evidence that Schumann--locked away in the asylum at Endenich--had returned sufficiently to health to justify his removal from confinement a year before his death. Like the innovations of his final compositions from 1845-1854, his sanity was overlooked and misunderstood by his contemporaries. Jensen corrects the historical record, illuminating the tragedy of Schumann's final days and refuting the common dismissal of his final works as the result of an unstable mind. A significant addition to music literature, Schumann is the first authoritative biography of the composer written for general readers as well as music students and historians. Price indication: $ 30.00

Erika Reiman Schumann's Piano Cycles and the Novels of Jean Paul (Eastman Studies in Music) University of Rochester Press, 2004; ISBN 158046145X; 224 pages Price indication: $ 75.00

Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann and Eva Weissweiler and Hildegard Fritsch and Ronald L. Crawford The Complete Correspondence of Clara and Robert Schumann Peter Lang Publishing, 1996; ISBN 0820424455; 574 pages Price indication: $ 62.95

Eric Frederick Jensen Schumann (Master Musicians Series) Oxford University Press, 2001; ISBN 0195135660; 408 pages Price indication: $ 42.75

Joan Chissell Schumann piano music (BBC music guides) University of Washington Press, 1972; ISBN 0295952520; 72 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 3.80

Hans Gal Schumann Orchestral Music (BBC music guides) Olympic Marketing Corp, 1980; ISBN 0295956968 Price indication: $ 4.99

J.D. Landis Longing Harcourt, 2000; ISBN 0151004536; 464 pages Price indication: $ 2.00

Robert Schumann On Music and Musicians W.W. Norton & Company, 1969; ISBN 0393004821 Price indication: (used only): from $ 6.89

Sheet music, libretti, etc.

Chamber Music of Robert Schumann - Dover Publications
<DIV><DIV>Superb collection of three trios, four quartets, and piano quintet. Breitkopf & Härtel edition.<BR></DIV></DIV>

Complete Symphonies in Full Score - Dover Publications
No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 ("Spring"); No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61; No. 3 in E Flat Major, Op. 97 ("Rhenish"); and No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120. Breitkopf & Härtel editions. Study score.<br>

Complete Works for Piano Four Hands - Dover Publications

Dichterliebe: An Authoritative Score (Critical Scores) - W. W. Norton & Company

Great Romantic Cello Concertos in Full Score - Dover Publications
Authoritative editions of Schumann, Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129; Saint-Saëns, Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 33; Dvorák, Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104. Clear notation, glossaries, etc.<br>

Great Works for Piano and Orchestra in Full Score - Dover Publications
Collection of three superb pieces for piano and orchestra, including the popular Piano Concerto in A Minor. Reprinted from Breitkopf & Härtel edition. Glossary of terms.<br>

Manfred Overture, Op. 115 - Eulenburg (Schott)

Music Minus One Mezzo Soprano: Schumann German Lieder for Low Voice (Book & CD) - Music Minus One

Music Minus One Soprano: Schumann German Lieder for High Voice (Book & CD) - Music Minus One
Perform timeless vocal Lieder with accompaniment from John Wustman, pianist for Pavarotti! Perfect for practice, rehearsal, auditions, contest solos, performances, and more! <P>A collection of beautiful German Lieder for high voice from nineteenth-century master Robert Schumann. <P>Includes a high-quality printed vocal score and a compact disc with stereo accompaniments to each piece.

Organ Works - Dover Publications
Masterly compositions in late Baroque style by three great Romantic composers. Brahms’s Eleven Chorale Preludes, Mendelssohn’s Six Sonatas and Schumann’s Six Fugues on the Name BACH, all reprinted from the authoritative Breitkopf & Härtel complete-works editions.<br>

Piano Music of Robert Schumann Series 2 - Dover Publications
<DIV><DIV>Major compositions from period 1838-53: <I>Humoreske, Novelletten,</I> Sonate No. 2, 43 Clavierstücke für die Jugend, and 6 other works. Reprinted from the Breitkopf and Härtel edition.</DIV></DIV>

Piano Music of Robert Schumann, Series III (Series 3) - Dover Publications
<DIV><DIV>All solo music not in other volumes, including Symphonic Etudes, Phantasie, 13 other choice works. Definitive Breitkopf & Härtel edition.</DIV></DIV>

Piano Music of Robert Schumann: Series 1 - Dover Publications
Major compositions from period 1830-39; Papillons, Toccata, Grosse Sonate No. 1, Phantasiestucke, Arabeske, Blumenstuck, and nine other works. Reprinted from Breitkopf and Härtel edition.<br>

Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 (Kinderszenen): Piano Solo - G. Schirmer, Inc.
Contents: Almost Too Serious * At the Fireside * Blindman's Bluff * A Child Falling Asleep * Curious Story * Frightening * Important Event * The Knight of the Rocking-Horse * Of Strange Lands and People * Perfectly Contented * Pleading Child * The Poet Speaks * Reverie.

Schumann / Album for the Young - Warner Brothers Publications

Schumann Masterpieces for Solo Piano : 73 Works - Dover Publications

Schumann: Album for the Young, opus 68 (Book & CD) - Alfred Publishing Company

Schumann: His Greatest Piano Solos - Music Sales Corporation

Schumann: Scenes from Childhood, opus 15 (Book & CD) - Alfred Publishing Company
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.

Selected Songs for Solo Voice and Piano - Dover Publications
<DIV><DIV><DIV>Over 100 of Schumann's greatest lieder, set to poems by Heine, Goethe, Byron, others. Breitkopf & Härtel edition.<BR></DIV></DIV></DIV>