Robert Schumann

Overview

Shuman Robert Schumann 1810.6.8~1856.7.29 German composer and music critic. He studied piano since he was a child and started composing music at the age of 7. At the age of 16, he followed his mother's wishes and entered the University of Leipzig to study law. At the age of 19, he studied piano again. When he heard Paganini's performance, he was greatly affected. He gave up studying law and specialized in music. Later, due to a finger injury, he turned to composition and music criticism. From 1835 to 1844, he edited the "New Music Magazine" alone and began to compose a large number of piano works. In 1840, he received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Jena, and in 1843 he went to teach at the Leipzig Conservatoire. From 1844 to 1850, he moved to Dresden and continued to engage in composition and conducting. Due to his increasingly serious mental illness, he drowned himself in a river in 1854 and was rescued. He died in a mental hospital two years later.

Schumann’s works are mostly piano music and songs. His piano works have a strong literary foundation and often express the resonance of people and events in his heart. He developed a new style after Schubert. Romantic piano music style. He usually composes a suite of several songs, using poems by romantic poets as lyrics, and pays attention to the inner artistic conception of the poems. As a music critic, he enthusiastically praised Bach and Beethoven, and praised the genius of Chopin and Brahms; his positive comments played an important role in promoting romantic music.

His main works include: 6 symphonies, overtures, piano, cello and horn concertos, string and piano ensembles, violin and piano sonatas, a large number of piano suites, vocal suites, and operas; his His works include "On Music and Musicians" and so on.

Details

Robert Schumann was the most prominent figure in the history of German music in the first half of the 19th century. His artistic creation profoundly reflected the advantages of German Romanticism. and weaknesses.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856), a famous German composer and music critic. He was born in a bookseller's family in Zwickau, Germany, and loved music and literature since childhood. Due to family prejudice, he studied law at university when he was young and could only study music part-time. Due to his tireless pursuit, he became the leading pianist in the local area.

Schumann was born on June 8, 1810 in Zwickau. His father was a well-educated bookseller, and his mother was the daughter of a surgeon. He learned piano at the age of seven and began to experiment with composition at the age of twelve. In 1828, he followed his mother's orders and entered the University of Leipzig to study law. In 1830, he studied piano with the pianist Vic. At that time, he determined to be a pianist. When he was able to specialize in music through tortuous struggles, he was eager for success and used mechanical devices to practice piano fingering, which injured his fingers and lost the possibility of becoming a pianist. He then devoted himself to music creation and music criticism. While Schumann was studying piano with Vick, he got along with his daughter Clara day and night and established a deep relationship. In the autumn of 1840, they overcame family resistance and were happily united through court intervention. While fighting for Clara, Schumann was also fighting for "new music." He founded the "New Music Magazine" in Leipzig to fight against the outdated, conservative and vulgar music culture at that time, and to correctly introduce classical music to readers. Therefore, "New Music Magazine" became the mouthpiece of Germany's progressive musical thought at that time.

The marriage with Clara, the famous pianist at that time, in 1840 has been rumored to be a good story, and it promoted his creative enthusiasm to an unprecedented high. In the year of marriage, he wrote 138 songs, which was praised by many people. It's called "Song Wen Cui". He taught at the Leipzig Conservatoire in 1843 and died of mental illness in 1856.

Schumann is one of the representatives of the mature period of romantic music. He was emotionally sensitive by nature and had democratic ideas. In 1834, he founded the "New Music Magazine", which played an important role in changing the outdated music atmosphere at that time and promoting the development of romantic art. He cared about and supported unknown musicians such as Chopin, Berlioz, Liszt, Brahms, Wagner, etc. In 1838, the reactionary authorities in Vienna discovered that he introduced Schubert's "Symphony in C Major" and forced him to be unable to work. He returned to Leipzig in 1839.

Schumann's representative works include: the famous piano music "Butterfly", "Carnival", "Symphonic Etude", "Fantasia", etc. These music promoted the development of romantic music style. The most famous song collections include "Myrtle", "Poet's Love", "Women's Love and Life", etc. Later, he also wrote four symphonies, as well as "Piano Concerto in A Minor", "Manfre Red Overture" and other outstanding works.

[Edit this paragraph] The emotions of Schumann, Clara and Brahms

The love of the music master: the story of Brahms and Clara (1)

Love can make a great soul greater.

——Schiller

When Brahms knocked on the door of Schumann’s house for the first time, he never thought that he would marry the woman at this door in his life. An indissoluble bond.

When Schumann heard that there were guests, he walked out of the study. He was wearing casual clothes and slippers. He was quiet and melancholy. His voice was so low that it was almost difficult to hear, and his eyes were kind and soft, which made the shy Brahms. He was immediately out of trouble.

Brahms took out the draft of his earliest piano sonata in C major and asked Schumann for advice.

Schumann opened the piano cover and asked Brahms to sit down and play. Before he finished playing a page, Schumann, who was standing behind him, gently pressed his shoulder and said kindly: "Please stop, I hope Clara can hear it too..."

Clara is his beloved wife and famous pianist.

When Clara walked into the living room, Brahms' eyes lit up.

Although Clara at this time has passed the flowery girlhood and entered middle age, it is the period when a woman's intelligence, emotion and beauty are most mature and glorious. Clara's noble temperament and demeanor have an otherworldly charm.

Brahms was stunned for a moment. An emotion that I have never experienced before arises spontaneously.

His fingers slid over the keys with great dexterity. When he stood up after playing a piece of music, Schumann enthusiastically opened his arms and grabbed him, shouting excitedly: "Genius! Young man, genius!..."

That night, Clara She wrote in her diary:

"A great man came from Hamburg today - Brahms... He is only 20 years old and was sent directly by God. Robert said, There is no need to have any other hope except praying to God for his health."

Schumann couldn't help but bring up the writing of criticism that he had stopped ten years ago and wrote a famous music review for "New Music Magazine". "New Road" enthusiastically recommends this new talent to the music industry.

This is the last music review in his life.

He also used his influence to get publishers to publish Brahms's early works.

He invited Brahms to live in his home. Those days, the master couple talked about this blond young man all day long.

They were deeply fascinated by this young man.

Brahms was also completely conquered by this musical master couple. He was not only grateful and grateful, but also admired their wisdom and personality.

This young man was born in the slums of Hamburg. In his youth, he was forced to hang out in bars due to the pressure of life. He lacked the opportunity to receive education and had no way to learn etiquette. He is rough and straightforward in his dealings with others, informal and has an almost surly temper. He is the son of a farmer and has many farmer habits. However, in front of Schumann and Clara, he seemed to be a completely different person.

Especially for Clara, this woman is superior to him in terms of intelligence, education and temperament. Even after he matured and became famous, as long as he stood in front of Clara, he always felt that she was superior to him.

He adored her. The Love of a Music Master: The Story of Brahms and Clara (2)

Less than half a year after this fateful meeting, Schumann suffered a mental breakdown.

As early as the summer after four years of Schumann and Clara's marriage, Schumann first experienced symptoms of nervous collapse. Later, even hearing the sound of music became unbearable for my nerves. His father died of mental illness. This hereditary disease was his fatal injury, and it also cast a shadow over the poetic and happy life of him and Clara.

One day in February 1854, Schumann was tortured by the voices of angels and demons throughout the night. Then one rainy day, without even wearing a hat, he quietly walked to the Rhine bridge and jumped into the rapids. Fortunately, he was discovered and sent to a lunatic asylum.

At that time, Brahms, who was in Hanover, heard the terrible news and rushed to Clara without caring about anything.

Clara was pregnant with her seventh child, and such a terrible blow left her devastated. Brahms became the unfortunate wife and mother's only reliable friend. Her suffering inspired his courage and sympathy, making this dull, somewhat vulgar young man become emotionally delicate and considerate.

He devoted himself to her and her children, and was at home watching over the children while Clara was away performing. He once wrote a serious letter to Clara, telling her tirelessly: "The children refused to study their ABCs hard. I gave them a lot of candies, but it still didn't work. I really can't do anything about them."

He also went to the lunatic asylum to visit Schumann on Clara's behalf, and wrote a detailed letter about the visit to Clara who was performing outside. He described to Clara the scene when he placed her portrait in Schumann's hands:

"He kissed it, and then put it down with trembling hands. It was the most touching thing. A scene. I cannot describe his graceful and calm movements, the warmth he expressed when he talked about you, and his joy when he saw your portrait. I can only let you use your best imagination to imitate it. , I was so happy that I was almost drunk."

At this time, Brahms' creation was at its initial climax. Due to his association with Schumann, he finally captured the romantic music. The essence of the music, so he spent half a year writing the "Piano Trio in B Major". When Clara was in a calm mood, he would play it to her and ask for her opinion. Sometimes, a wonderful variation pops up based on the theme given to Clara by Schumann.

Clara has long been worshiped as a muse. Now, when she was in pain and exhausted, it was a great comfort to be able to inspire a young admirer, which made her mood brighter.

In this cordial atmosphere of adversity and passion, the feelings between them became more intense.

At first, Brahms returned to Clara out of a sense of moral responsibility. Now, it is impossible for him to be separated from Clara.

Clara went to Fosdante in order to recuperate. Brahms was traveling and rushed to Clara's side after hearing the news. A few months later, Clara traveled to the Netherlands to perform. In order to spend a few days with her, Brahms spent his only money and rushed to Rotterdam to accompany her.

Brahms’ initial devout admiration and sincere affection for Clara naturally gradually turned into passionate love. Although Clara was 14 years older than him and the mother of seven children, this did not diminish his attachment to her at all. On the contrary, the fact that she knew more about life than he did only increased her attraction. And he admired her even more for her endurance and self-control of grief.

However, Clara was the wife of his mentor. At this time, Schumann was suffering from a terrible disease, but Clara still dedicated her eternal love to her husband. Therefore, Brahms could only love her silently and regard her as a motherly friend.

He gave up job opportunities that could make him famous and make money several times just to stay with Clara. He kept writing love letters to her, pouring out his true feelings, but none of these love letters were delivered to Clara. Because he understood the true meaning of love from Clara and saw the beauty of self-restraint.

Clara understood Brahms’ passion and his enthusiasm for wanting to devote everything to her. But he cherished his genius and his loyalty even more. She also forgives him for his childishness. She guides him to face reality with feminine tenderness, and soothes his turbulent soul with maternal love.

For two years, Brahms’ entire life was dedicated to Clara, to that kind of pure, noble, hopeless love, to the kind of love that can only be buried deep in his heart. .

Clara is his goddess. The Love of a Music Master: The Story of Brahms and Clara (3)

Two years later, Schumann died.

The long suffering over the past two years has not weakened the weight of this last blow. Clara's heart was broken.

Now, Clara is free.

In the past two years, those despicable people who are keen to spread rumors have become more shameless and noisy there. Some even say that Brahms was the father of Clara's last child.

However, Brahms left Clara unexpectedly.

It is not that Brahms is afraid of those gossips, but because he increasingly feels that his love is not allowed by morality, and this kind of love cannot make up for Clara's loss of Schumann. mental shortcomings. This conflict between emotion and reason, emotion and morality is becoming more and more acute. The unforgettable love and the insurmountable morality tore at his soul, causing him to feel great and inescapable pain.

Schumann's death was a heavy blow to him.

Schumann was relieved. He was also liberated. He found the power to control his passion. This is what Clara taught him and gave him.

Brahms learned to control, but the pain did not go away. His pain can only find sustenance in music, and his passion flows from the bottom of his heart to the staff.

He began to conceive of the "Piano Quartet in C Minor" at this time. After writing it, he revised it again and again until it was finally completed 20 years later. What flows from the tip of his pen is not the notes, but the blood from the bottom of his heart.

When he showed the first movement he had just written to his friend, he explained: "Please imagine that a person is about to shoot himself. There is no other way out for him."

Six years later, when he sent the complete manuscript of the quartet to his friend, he wrote in the letter: "I give this quartet to you purely as an antique - it is dressed in blue. "An illustration of the last chapter of the life of the man in a tuxedo and a yellow vest" refers to Goethe's description of the dead Werther at the end of "The Sorrows of Young Werther", which hints at his Werther-esque suffering.

Finally, 20 years after he left Clara, he handed the work to a publisher for publication. He said in the letter: "You must draw a picture on the cover: a head with a pistol pointed at it. In this way you can form a musical idea!"

Witt ended himself with a pistol Young life, while Brahms recorded Werther's pain with notes.

There is no way out for Werther. Art saved Brahms.

Brahms was only 23 years old when he left Clara, and he has not forgotten this pain 20 years later. "Piano Quartet in C Minor" is the memorial of love and the crystallization of pain.

"Piano Quartet in C Minor" is a symbol, a symbol of unforgettable love, a symbol of insurmountable morality, and a symbol of this eternal conflict.

The Love of a Music Master: The Story of Brahms and Clara (4)

Even if it turns into dust CLARA

Your dead favorite

Still fills the gap Fill every corner between us,

Until death comes again

This way

How can I have you, CLARA

-----Brahms

Brahms transformed his love for CLARA into notes and insisted on his belief in CLARA

Brahms in G major< /p>

Sonata No. 1, first movement

A sad and unfulfilled love,

Simple and profound helplessness

Because of Bra Mess fell in love with

Clara, the wife who was loyal to his friend Schumann

And CLARA said to her lover Schumann,

I will always follow her You,

Even if you die

Schumann-"Piano Concerto" in A minor

Schumann

"Piano Concerto" in A minor, The work was completed in 1845. In 1841, Schumann tried to change the traditional way of writing piano concertos and composed a single-movement piano concerto called "Fantasia in A minor for piano," but the manuscript was rejected by the publisher. Later Schumann had to compose two new movements. The work was completed during the happiest years of Schumann's life, when his and Clara's love broke through all obstacles and succeeded, and the creation climaxed. The theme of the music is clear, expressing the author's life ideals and the belief in fighting for them. Although it is not novel in appearance compared with classical concertos, in essence it is a piano concerto with extremely romantic characteristics.

The work*** is divided into three movements.

The first movement: passionate and emotional Allegro, in A minor, 4/4 time, sonata form. The first theme of the movement is in the key of A minor, which is depressing and painful (Fragment 1). The second theme unfolds in the bright key of C major, which is bright and full of fantasy. The development of these two themes is sometimes painful and lamentable, sometimes imaginative; sometimes meditative, sometimes impassioned. Demonstrated tenacity and fighting spirit.

Second movement: Intermezzo, elegant Andante, F major, 2/4 time, three sections. This movement is full of extremely sweet emotions, almost like a romantic and gentle concerto pastoral. At the beginning of the music, the strings and piano respond beautifully, softly unfolding the theme. This intoxicating atmosphere cannot be found in previous concertos (Excerpt 2). Some people think that this is a description of Clara's moving image. After the movement ends, it goes directly to the third movement without stopping.

The third movement: lively Allegro, A major, 3/4 time, sonata form. The piano brilliantly played the idea of ??the first theme of the first movement, and the string instruments joined in with a sparkling scale rise. The dance melody of the theme is sharp and angular, with the momentum of declaring war on all vulgar forces (fragment 3). At the end of this movement, the piano plays a gorgeous melody, forming a climax with passion and confidence and ending the music gorgeously.

Schumann - "Carnival"

Carnival was written in 1835. At this time, Schumann was 25 years old. His music career was flourishing and he was on his way to the pinnacle of success. This work is not only filled with the romantic spirit of Schumann's music, but also reflects his personality of music criticism. Schumann was not only able to write sharp and distinctive music criticism in words, but also loved to use notes to express his critical spirit when composing music. "Carnival" is different from the piano sonata, which has gradually formed a certain standard form of suites since the Baroque period. Piano sonatas usually have three or four fixed movements, the style is relatively large, and the internal structure of each movement is relatively complex. Schumann's piano suites are free in form, consisting of many lively short pieces, or almost a string of piano sketches, and the whole work has a consistent theme. The "Carnival" suite consists of 21 short pieces

Schumann named this piano suite "Carnival", which borrowed from Western carnival customs and dramatically added some charades. . Carnival is a celebration held in Catholic countries before Lent. It originated from ancient festivals to celebrate the arrival of the New Year and the recovery of nature. The dates of Carnival vary from country to country, but the celebration methods of Carnival are basically the same, that is, costume parades and singing and dancing carnivals. The most lively carnival in history is the Roman Carnival. The most famous carnival in modern times is the Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Brazil. In recent years, some Western cities have a tendency to resume carnivals. Schumann's "Carnival" suite borrows the custom of masquerade parties at the carnival. Each of the 21 sketches represents a musical sketch of a character. The personalized music is the character's masquerade mask. Several of the sketches also use the theme of dismantling musical note anagrams throughout. This approach came from a love experience of Schumann. When he wrote "Carnival", he used the notes represented by the four letters of the place name Ashe to form the musical theme. These four letters were the letters in Schumann's own surname. The four letters changed the combination to form this Variations of dominant motives. Among the 21 sketches in the suite, the musical themes of most of the tracks are composed of the notes represented by these four letters. In this way, a theme pattern runs through the entire suite, making each song have a listening connection. Perceptually connected, like a set of coherent variations on a theme.

Schumann added a subtitle to the suite's general title "Carnival": "A Four-note Joke", which was later published as "Carnival: Four-note Beauty". Writing music using the letters and notes of people's names or place names is not Schumann's initiative. In the West, people love to play the word puzzle game of combining letters. When this game is brought into music, it becomes a note game. Many famous musicians have written This kind of music.

In "Carnival", after the first "Prelude", all kinds of people appear on the stage one after another. Here is the traditional French clown Pierrot. Pierrot is dressed in white and has a melancholy look. He compares himself to a philosopher and often says some pretense of profound aphorisms to make people laugh. After Piero, his partner Arlekin appeared. Arlekin was jumping around, shouting, waving his long whip, and making all kinds of ugly appearances. Later, the Harlequins Pantalone and Clonpina from the Italian comic opera appeared. There was "Coquettish" posing, "Butterflies" shuttled in and out, and "Dancing Letters" flickered and jumped in between. The main group at the carnival is the "League of David" who attacks the vulgar. The League of David was a fictitious music alliance created by Schumann when he was editor of the New Music Magazine. He listed the names of musicians who were in line with his musical ideas into the League, and used these names to publish articles to clarify his musical ideas, including Mozart, Chopin, Paganini, Mendelssohn, Mosheleski, and even the poet Heine. The name of this hypothetical organization is the "Davidic League", which takes the ancient Israelite King David as the protector of the alliance. King David was a powerful warrior, a legendary singer, and the embodiment of beautiful ideals. The two most important members of the "David League" are Florestan and Josephus. These two names are actually two pen names of Schumann himself. The two people represent the two sides of Schumann. Floret Stan is passionate and sharp, straightforward and impulsive, while Josephus is quiet and elegant, a poet full of fantasy. In addition to the inseparable Florestan and Josephus, the "David League" members who appeared in "Carnival" also included von Flicken, Clara Wieck who later became Mrs. Schumann, Chopin, Paganini. The allies united happily to dance and carnival at the carnival ball, and finally defeated the mediocrity completely. The conception of the piano suite "Carnival" is very strange, and the musical image sketch is very successful. The composer used happy and bitter ridicule to satirize the dull and conservative critics of German music at that time. The day after the work was published, someone came to criticize "Carnival", which resulted in an even stronger satire from Schumann in the "New Music Magazine". Nowadays, when people appreciate the piano suite "Carnival", they often only pay attention to looking for the theme composed of the notes represented by the four letters in the music, but ignore the exquisiteness and romanticism of the music itself, and even less think about being a music critic. Schumann's efforts in paving the way for romantic music. This piece is of considerable historical significance. Its publication not only marked the emergence of a new type of "romantic piano music" at that time, but also demonstrated the author's critical spirit of daring to innovate in art.

Schumann - Overture to "Manfred"

Overture to "Manfred" The protagonist of the philosophical poem "Manfred" by the British poet Byron is a Someone who is disappointed with life and humanity. He doubts knowledge and science, and despises the fate of all living beings; he stays away from love, preferring to endure torture and torture, and live a lonely and secluded life alone. At the same time, he also abandoned religion, denied God, and denied all orders in the existing world, showing an indomitable spirit of resistance that no reactionary force could make him surrender. Manfred's image is a mixture of deep disappointment with the hypocritical society of the time and pessimistic philosophical thoughts. He has some similarities with Schumann's inner world, so he is particularly attractive to Schumann. . Schumann wrote sixteen sections of music for Byron's poetic drama, including an overture and fifteen sections of chorus, duet, recital accompaniment and instrumental interludes. The most outstanding one is its overture, which can be said to be one of Schumann's most talented works.

Schumann's "Manfred" Overture wins for its profound conception, novel harmonies, poetic images and powerful psychological depiction. Like Schumann's other works, this overture also has many themes, which are used to portray Manfred's character from different aspects.

At the beginning of the overture, the whole orchestra played three powerful syncopated chords, giving the music a mysterious color. The theme of this introduction describes Manfred's gloomy contemplation, or despair of grief (fragment 1).

The first theme of the presentation part in the form of a sonata reflects Manfred's excitement, enthusiasm, distress, despair and other emotions and inner torture. The second theme of the overture is played by the violin part, showing the gentle side of the protagonist. It is emotionally different from the first theme, but it is still shrouded in a dark and melancholy fog.

Manfred’s basic image has a truly symphonic development in this overture. His cynical demeanor, panic and melancholy, the sorrow of missing his lover, and various inner conflicts are all represented by The majestic momentum is reflected. Manfred's ending is tragic. The "forgetfulness" he sought so hard could never be found. He finally died peacefully at the end of the poetic drama. After the introductory theme of the overture reappears, the whole song ends.

Schumann - "The Poet's Love"

Schumann

The vocal suite "The Poet's Love" was composed in what is known as Schumann's "Song In 1840, the author married his beloved Clara. It can be said to be Schumann's love diary. The work*** includes sixteen vocal works, the lyrics of which come from the sixty-five poems of Heine's "Lyric Interlude". This group of works is not only a typical representative of Schumann's vocal works, but also a masterpiece with the most complete artistic structure.

The music of "Poet's Love" has different tunes, including "Brilliant and Bright May" (Fragment 1), which is a gentle urban pop song, and "Little Rose, Little Lily", which is a folk song. (Fragment 2), "If Only Those Little Flowers Knew", etc., as well as the vast and serious epic "Rhine" (Fragment 3), etc. These are world-famous vocal works.

Schumann-Books

"Robert Schumann - Lowalt Musician Biography Series" (Germany) written by Meyer, translated by Du Xinhua People's Music Publishing House

"Collection of Schumann's Simple Piano Pieces" (Germany) Compiled by Teppel, People's Music Publishing House

"Selected Piano Pieces of Schumann", compiled by Piano Department of Central Conservatory of Music, People's Music Publishing House

Schumann-Reference Materials

"Robert Schumann - Lowalt Musician Biography Series" (Germany) Maier, translated by Du Xinhua People's Music Publishing House

"Collection of Schumann's Simple Piano Pieces" (Germany) edited by Teppel, People's Music Publishing House

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Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia

Answer: 11111ju - Level 1 2010-2-6 18:35

I will provide some information for the second question!

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, music had another breakthrough development. Composers starting with Webern broke the twelve-note composition method and abandoned the European tonality of nearly 400 years. System, invented the twelve-tone sequence, and later atonal and other musical forms appeared, such as Schoenberg at that time was the representative! After the world war, science and technology became more developed, people's thoughts became richer, electronic music appeared, and cultural exchanges between countries continued to integrate, resulting in richer and more diversified music forms! The music after 1945 is called avant-garde music. The music at this time has shaken people's view of the beauty of music, and has become more theoretical, producing music forms that people cannot understand, such as silent music, noise, microtones, etc.!

In addition, because Beethoven's late works showed romantic tendencies, the classical music school ended in 1820 (soon after Beethoven died).

Beethoven's death can be seen as a sign of the end of the era of classical music.