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Robert Schumann brief biography and creativity. Schumann - who is he? A failed pianist, a brilliant composer or a sharp music critic? Pianist from God

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) – German composer, musical critic and teacher. One of the outstanding musicians of the era of such an artistic movement as romanticism. They predicted a future for him best pianist Europe, but Robert injured his hand and was unable to continue playing musical instrument, in connection with this he devoted his life to writing music.

Parents

Robert was born on June 8, 1810 in the German town of Zwickau, located in picturesque Saxony.

The head of the family, Friedrich August Schumann, was the son of an impoverished priest from Ronnenburg. He had a natural poetic talent. However, the poverty in which his childhood and youth passed forced the guy to give up his dreams of poetry and engage in trading. After graduating from school, he entered the service of a merchant as an apprentice. But trade was extremely disgusting to him, while Friedrich Augustus read books to the point of madness. In the end, he left the merchant, returned home to his parents and took up literary work. The novel he wrote was not published, but became an opportunity to meet booksellers. Schumann was invited to work as an assistant in a bookstore, and he happily agreed.

Soon Friedrich August met charming girl Johanna Christiana Schnabel, whom he loved with all his heart. Their marriage was opposed by the bride's parents due to the extreme poverty of the groom. But the persistent Schumann worked so hard over the course of a year that he saved money not only for the wedding, but also to open his own bookstore. When trading business was particularly successful, Friedrich August transferred them to the city of Zwickau, where he opened a store called the Schumann Brothers.

Robert Schumann's mother, Johanna Christian, in contrast to her withdrawn and serious husband, was a cheerful, hot-tempered woman, sometimes quick-tempered, but very kind. She took care of the house and raising children, of whom there were five in the family - sons (Karl, Eduard, Julius, Robert) and daughter Emilia.

The future composer was the most youngest child in family. After his birth, his mother fell into some kind of exalted delight and concentrated all her maternal love on Robert. She called her youngest child “a bright point on her life’s path.”

Childhood

Schumann grew up as a playful and cheerful child. The boy was very handsome, with a finely contoured face, which was framed by long blond curls. He was not only his mother’s favorite son, but also the darling of the whole family. Adults and children calmly tolerated Robert's mischief and whims.

At the age of six, the boy was sent to Denera school. Among his classmates, Schumann immediately began to stand out and excel. In all games he was the leader, and when they played the most favorite game - toy soldiers, Robert was certainly elected commander and led the battle.

It cannot be said that Schumann was a brilliant student at school, but his rich creative nature appeared immediately. Having discovered that the child has excellent ear for music At the age of seven, his parents sent him to a local organist to learn to play the piano. In addition to musicality, Robert’s father’s genes also manifested themselves; the boy composed poems, a little later tragedies and comedies, which he learned with his friends and demonstrated, sometimes even for a reasonable fee.

As soon as Robert learned to play the piano, he immediately began to improvise and write music. At first, he composed dances, which he painstakingly wrote down in a thick notebook. The most unique thing he was able to do on a musical instrument was to depict character traits using sounds. This is how he drew his friends on the piano. It turned out so great that the boys, gathered around the young composer, roared with laughter.

Passion for music

Schumann hesitated for a long time what to devote his life to - music or literature? The father, of course, wanted his son to fulfill his unfulfilled dreams and become a writer or poet. But chance decided everything. In 1819, in Carlsbad, a boy attended a concert by Moscheles. The virtuoso's playing made an extraordinary impression on the young Schumann; he then kept the concert program for a long time, like a shrine. From that day on, Robert realized that his heart finally and irrevocably belonged to music.

In 1828, the young man graduated from high school, receiving a first-degree diploma. The joy of this was slightly overshadowed by the upcoming choice of career and profession. By this time, his father had died, and Robert was deprived of all creative support. Mom insisted on further legal education. Having listened to her persuasion, Robert became a student at the University of Leipzig. In 1829, he transferred to one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in Germany - the University of Heidelberg.

But the young composer’s heart yearned for music, and in 1830 Schumann received permission from his mother to quit his law studies and engage in creative activity.

Creation

He returned to Leipzig, found good teachers and began taking piano lessons. Robert wanted to become virtuoso pianist. But during his studies, he suffered paralysis of his middle and index fingers, which forced him to give up his dream and focus on music composition. Simultaneously with composition, he took up music criticism.

In 1834, he founded the influential periodical “New Musical Newspaper”. For several years he was its editor and published his articles there.

Robert wrote most of his works for piano. Basically, these are “portrait”, lyrical-dramatic and visual cycles of several small plays, which are interconnected by a plot and psychological line:

  • "Butterflies" (1831);
  • "Carnival" (1834);
  • "Davidsbündlers", "Fantastic Passages" (1837);
  • "Kreisleriana", "Children's Scenes" (1838);
  • "The Poet's Love" (1840);
  • "Album for Youth" (1848).

In 1840 Robert was awarded academic degree PhD from the University of Leipzig. This year generally became the most fruitful in his work for the composer; inspired by his marriage to the woman he loved, he wrote about 140 songs.

In 1843, Felix Mendelssohn founded the Higher School of Music and Theater (now a conservatory) in Leipzig, where Schumann taught composition and piano and read scores.

In 1844, Robert interrupted his teaching and work in a music newspaper, as he and his wife went on a tour to Moscow and St. Petersburg. They were received there very warmly. Clara played for the Empress herself, and Schumann made many useful contacts. The spouses were especially impressed by the luxury Winter Palace.

Returning from Russia, Robert refused to continue publishing the newspaper and devoted himself entirely to writing music. But such a diligent zeal for work began to have a detrimental effect on his condition. The composer was also upset by the fact that he was greeted everywhere as the husband of the famous pianist Clara Wieck. Traveling with his wife on tours, he became increasingly convinced that his fame did not extend beyond the borders of Leipzig and Dresden. But Robert never envied his wife’s success, because it was Clara who was the first performer of all of Schumann’s works and made his music famous.

Personal life

In September 1840, Robert married the daughter of his musical mentor Friedrich Wieck. This marriage encountered many obstacles along the way. With all due respect to Schumann, Friedrich Wieck wanted a more suitable groom for his daughter. The lovers even resorted to a last resort - they went to court with a request to decide their fate.

The court ruled in favor of the young people, and they played a modest wedding in the village of Shenfeld. Schumann's dream came true, now his beloved Clara Wieck and the piano were next to him. The brilliant pianist married the great composer, and they had eight children - four girls and four boys. The couple were incredibly happy until Robert started having psychical deviations.

last years of life

In 1850, Schumann was invited to Düsseldorf to take the place of city music director. Arriving with his wife in this city, they were amazed at the warm welcome they received. Robert happily began working for new position: led spiritual concerts in the church, worked with the choir every week, and directed symphony orchestras.

Under fresh impressions in Düsseldorf, the composer created the “Rhine Symphony”, “The Bride of Messina”, overtures to Shakespeare’s drama “Julius Caesar” and to Goethe’s work “Herman and Dorothea”.

However, disagreements with the orchestra soon began, and in 1853 Schumann's contract was not renewed. He and his wife went on a trip to Holland, but symptoms began to appear there mental illness. Returning to Germany, things did not get any easier. On the contrary, apathy and signs of illness intensified. The consciousness of such a sad state pushed Robert to suicide; he tried to take his own life by throwing himself into the Rhine River from a bridge. The composer was rescued and placed in psychiatric clinic near Bonn.

At first he was allowed to correspond with Clara and receive friends. But soon the doctors noticed that after the visits Schumann became wildly excited, and his comrades were forbidden to come to the patient. Robert fell into a state of deep melancholy, in addition to auditory and visual, he began to have hallucinations of smell and taste. Mental strength faded, physical health dried up even faster, as the composer completely abandoned food. He passed away on July 29, 1856 as a result of exhaustion.

When opening the skull, they discovered that the cause of the disease was located right here: Schumann’s blood vessels were overcrowded, the bones at the base of the skull became thickened and new bone mass sprouted, which broke through the outer brain covering with sharp tips.

The body of the great composer was transported to Bonn and interred in front of a huge crowd of people.

Creative path. Musical and literary interests of childhood. University years. Musical-critical activity. Leipzig period. Last decade

Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810 in the city of Zwickau (Saxony) into the family of a book publisher. His father, an intelligent and outstanding man, encouraged his artistic inclinations youngest son *.

* It is known that Schumann’s father even went to Dresden to see Weber to persuade him to take charge of his son’s musical studies. Weber agreed, but due to his departure to London, these classes did not take place. Schumann's teacher was organist I. G. Kuntsch.

Schumann began composing at the age of seven, but he early attracted attention as a promising pianist, and for a long time the center of his musical activity was piano performance.

Huge place in spiritual development the young men were interested in literary interests. During his school years, he was deeply impressed by the works of Goethe, Schiller, Byron and the ancient Greek tragedians. Later, the now half-forgotten favorite of the German romantics, Jean Paul, became his literary idol. The exaggerated emotionality of this writer, his desire to depict the unusual, unbalanced, his peculiar language, overloaded with complex metaphors, had a great influence not only on Schumann’s literary style, but also on his musical creativity. The continuity of literary and musical images is one of the most characteristic features of Schumann art.

With the death of his father in 1826, the composer’s life turned, in his own words, into “a struggle between poetry and prose.” Under the influence of his mother and guardian, who did not sympathize with the young man’s artistic aspirations, after completing his gymnasium course, he entered the law faculty of the University of Leipzig. The university years (1828-1830), full of inner restlessness and tossing, turned out to be very significant in the spiritual formation of the composer. From the very beginning, his passionate interest in music, literature, and philosophy came into sharp conflict with academic routine. In Leipzig he began studying with Friedrich Wieck, good musician and piano teacher. In 1830, Schumann heard Paganini for the first time and realized what enormous possibilities lay in the performing arts. Impressed by the playing of the great artist, Schumann was overcome by a thirst for musical activity. Then, even without a composition director, he began composing. The desire to create an expressive virtuoso style subsequently brought to life “Etudes for Piano after Paganini’s Caprices” and “Concert Etudes after Paganini’s Caprices.”

A stay in Leipzig, Heidelberg (where he transferred in 1829), trips to Frankfurt, Munich, where he met Heine, a summer trip to Italy - all this greatly expanded his general horizons. Already in these years, Schumann acutely felt the irreconcilable contradiction between advanced social aspirations and the reactionary essence of the German philistinism. Hatred of philistines, or “grandfathers” (as provincial philistines were called in student jargon), became the dominant feeling of his life*.

* Schumann even depicted philistines in his music, using the melody of the ancient dance “Grossvatertanz”, that is, “Grandfather’s Dance” (finals piano cycles"Butterflies" and "Carnival").

In 1830, the composer's mental discord, forced to practice law, led to Schumann leaving Heidelberg and its academic environment and returning to Leipzig to Wieck to devote himself entirely and forever to music.

The years spent in Leipzig (from late 1830 to 1844) were the most fruitful in Schumann's work. He seriously injured his hand, and this deprived him of any hope of a career as a virtuoso performer*.

* Schumann invented a device that allows the development of the fourth finger. Working long hours, he permanently injured his right hand.

Then he turned all his outstanding talent, energy and propaganda temperament to composition and musical critical activity.

Its rapid flourishing creative forces amazing. The bold, original, complete style of his first works seems almost implausible *.

* Only in 1831 did he begin to systematically study composition with G. Dorn.

“Butterflies” (1829-1831), variation “Abegg” (1830), “Symphonic Etudes” (1834), “Carnival” (1834-1835), “Fantasy” (1836), “Fantastic Pieces” (1837), “ Kreisleriana" (1838) and many other works for piano from the 1930s opened a new page in the history of musical art.

Almost all of Schumann's remarkable journalistic activity also occurred in this early period.

In 1834, with the participation of a number of his friends (L. Schunke, J. Knorr, T. F. Wieck), Schumann founded the “New Musical Journal”. This was the practical realization of Schumann’s dream of a union of advanced artists, which he called the “Brotherhood of David” (“Davidsbund”) *.

* This name corresponded to the ancient national traditions of Germany, where medieval guilds were often called “David brotherhoods.”

The main goal of the magazine was, as Schumann himself wrote, “to raise dropped value art." Emphasizing the ideological and progressive nature of his publication, Schumann provided it with the motto “Youth and Movement.” And as an epigraph to the first issue, he chose a phrase from Shakespeare’s work: “...Only those who came to watch a cheerful farce will be deceived.”

In the “era of Thalberg” (Schumann’s expression), when empty virtuoso plays thundered from the stage and entertainment art filled concert and theater halls, Schumann’s journal as a whole, and its articles in particular, made a stunning impression. These articles are remarkable first of all for their persistent propaganda of the great heritage of the past, the “pure source,” as Schumann called it, “from where one can draw new artistic beauty" His analyzes, which revealed the content of the music of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, and Mozart, are striking in their depth and understanding of the spirit of history. The crushing, ironic criticism of modern pop composers, whom Schumann called “art merchants,” has largely retained its social relevance for the bourgeois culture of our days.

No less striking is Schumann's sensitivity in recognizing genuine new talents and in appreciating their humanistic significance. Time has confirmed the accuracy of Schumann's musical forecasts. He was one of the first to welcome the work of Chopin, Berlioz, Liszt, and Brahms *.

* Schumann’s first article about Chopin, containing the famous phrase: “Hats off, gentlemen, before you is a genius,” appeared in 1831 in the “General Musical Newspaper” before the founding of Schumann’s journal. The article on Brahms - Schumann's last article - was written in 1853, after many years of interruption in critical activity.

In Chopin's music, behind its graceful lyricism, Schumann was the first to see the revolutionary content, saying about the works of the Polish composer that they were “cannons covered with flowers.”

Schumann drew a sharp line between the leading innovative composers, the true heirs of the great classics, and the epigones, who resembled only “the pathetic silhouettes of the powdered wigs of Haydn and Mozart, but not the heads that wore them.”

He rejoiced at the development of national music in Poland and Scandinavia and welcomed the features of nationality in the music of his compatriots.

During the years of unbridled passion in Germany for foreign entertainment opera, he raised his voice for the creation of a national German musical theater in the tradition of Beethoven's Fidelio and Weber's The Magic Shooter. All his statements and articles are permeated by a belief in the high ethical purpose of art.

A characteristic feature of Schumann the critic was the desire for a deep aesthetic assessment of the content of the work. Analysis of form played a subordinate role in it. Schumann's articles provided an outlet for his need for literary creativity. Often, topical journalistic topics and professional analysis were presented in fictional form. Sometimes these were scenes or short stories. This is how Schumann’s favorite “Davidsbündlers” appeared - Florestan, Eusebius, Maestro Raro. Florestan and Eusebius personified not only two sides of the composer’s personality, but also two dominant trends in romantic art. Both heroes - the ardent, energetic and ironic Florestan and the young elegiac poet and dreamer Eusebius - often appear in Schumann's literary and musical works *.

* The prototypes of Florestan and Eusebius are found in Jean Paul’s novel “The Mischievous Years” in the images of twin brothers Vult and Valt.

Their extreme points vision and artistic sympathies are often reconciled by the wise and balanced maestro Raro.

Sometimes Schumann wrote his articles in the form of letters to a friend or a diary (" Notebooks Davidsbündler", "Aphorisms"). All of them are distinguished by ease of thought and beautiful style. They combine the conviction of a propagandist with a flight of fancy and a rich sense of humor.

Influence literary style Jean Paul and partly Hoffmann are noticeable in some heightened emotionality, in the frequent appeal to figurative associations, in the “capriciousness” of Schumann’s writing style. He strove to make with his articles the same artistic impression that the music they were devoted to the analysis caused in him.

In 1840 in creative biography Schumann's milestone has been outlined.

This coincided with turning point in the composer's life - the end of a painful four-year struggle with F. Vic for the right to marry his daughter Clara. Clara Wieck (1819-1896) was a remarkable pianist. Her playing amazed not only with its rare technical perfection, but even more with its deep penetration into the author's intention. Clara was still a child, a “child prodigy,” when a spiritual closeness arose between her and Schumann. The views and artistic tastes of the composer greatly contributed to her formation as an artist. She was also a creatively gifted musician. Schumann repeatedly used musical themes Clara Wieck for her writings. Their spiritual interests were closely intertwined.

In all probability, creative flourishing Schumann was associated with marriage in the early 40s. However, the impact of other strong impressions this period. In 1839, the composer visited Vienna, a city associated with the sacred names of the great composers of the recent past. True, frivolous atmosphere musical life capital of Austria pushed him away, and the police censorship regime discouraged him and prompted him to abandon his intention to move to Vienna in order to establish music magazine. Nevertheless, the significance of this trip is great. Having met Schubert’s brother Ferdinand, Schumann found the composer’s C major (last) symphony among the manuscripts he kept and, with the help of his friend Mendelssohn, made it public property. Schubert’s work awakened in him a desire to try his hand at romance and chamber symphonic music. The Schumann artist could not help but be influenced by the revival of public life on the eve of the 1848 revolution.

“I care about everything that happens in this world: politics, literature, people; I think about all this in my own way, and then it all comes out, seeks expression in music,” Schumann said even earlier about his attitude to life.

Schumann's art of the early 40s is characterized by a significant expansion of creative interests. This was expressed, in particular, in a consistent passion for various musical genres.

By the end of 1839, Schumann seemed to have exhausted the field of piano music. Throughout 1840 he was absorbed vocal creativity. Behind a short time Schumann created more than one hundred and thirty songs, including all of his most outstanding collections and cycles (“Circle of Songs” based on texts by Heine, “Myrtle” based on poems by various poets, “Circle of Songs” based on texts by Eichendorff, “Love and Life of a Woman” based on poems Chamisso, “The Love of a Poet” based on texts by Heine). After 1840, interest in the song fades away for a long time, and the next year passes under the sign of the symphony. In 1841, four major symphonic works by Schumann appeared (the First Symphony, the Symphony in d minor, known as the Fourth, the Overture, Scherzo and Finale, the first movement of the piano concerto). 1842 gives a number beautiful works in the chamber-instrumental sphere (three string quartets, a piano quartet, a piano quintet) And finally, having composed the oratorio “Paradise and Peri” in 1843, Schumann mastered the last area of ​​​​music that he had not touched upon - vocal-dramatic.

Big variety artistic ideas characterizes the next period of Schumann’s work (until the end of the 40s). Among the works of these years we find monumental scores, works in the contrapuntal style influenced by Bach, song and piano miniatures. Since 1848, he has composed choral music in the German national spirit. However, it was precisely in the years of the composer’s greatest maturity that contradictory features of his artistic appearance were revealed.

Undoubtedly, severe mental illness left its mark on the music of the late Schumann. Many works of this period (for example, the Second Symphony) were created in the struggle of “the creative spirit with the destructive power of illness” (as the composer himself said). Indeed, the temporary improvement in the composer's health in 1848-1849 immediately manifested itself in creative productivity. He then completed his only opera, Genoveva, composed the best of the three parts of the music for Goethe's Faust (known as the first part), and created one of his most outstanding works, the overture and music for Byron's dramatic poem Manfred. During these same years, he revived his interest in piano and vocal miniatures, forgotten during the previous decade. A surprising number of other works appeared.

But the results are stormy creative activity of the late period were not equivalent. This is explained not only by the composer’s illness.

Exactly at last decade Schumann's life began to gravitate toward generalizations, monumental genres. This is evidenced by “Genoveva” and several unrealized opera plans based on the plots of Shakespeare, Schiller and Goethe, music for Goethe’s “Faust” and Byron’s “Manfred”, the intention to create an oratorio about Luther, the Third Symphony (“Rhenish”). But, an outstanding psychologist, who with rare perfection reflected the flexible change in music states of mind, he did not know how to embody objective images with the same force. Schumann dreamed of creating art in classical spirit- balanced, harmonious, harmonious - however, his creative individuality manifested itself much more clearly in the depiction of impulse, excitement, and dreams.

Large dramatic works Schumann, for all their undeniable artistic qualities, did not achieve the perfection of his piano and vocal miniatures. Often the embodiment and the composer's plan were strikingly different from each other. Thus, instead of the folk oratorio he had conceived, in the last years of his life he created only choral works based on texts by romantic poets, written in a patriarchal-sentimental style rather than in the Handelian or Bach traditions. He managed to complete only one opera, and only overtures remained from his other theatrical plans.

A certain milestone in Schumann's creative path was marked by the revolutionary events of 1848-1849.

Schumann's sympathies for revolutionary popular movements were repeatedly felt in his music. Thus, back in 1839, Schumann introduced into his “Vienna Carnival” the theme of “La Marseillaise,” which became the anthem of the revolutionary students, banned by the Viennese police. There is an assumption that the inclusion of the Marseillaise theme in the overture to Hermann and Dorothea was a disguised protest against the monarchical coup carried out in France by Louis Napoleon in 1851. The Dresden uprising of 1849 evoked a direct creative response from the composer. He composed three poems based on the poems of revolutionary poets vocal ensemble For male voices accompanied by a brass band (“To Arms” to the text by T. Ulrich, “Black-Red-Gold” - the colors of the Democrats - to the text by F. Freiligrath and “Song of Freedom” to the text by I. Fürst) and four piano marches op. 76. “I couldn’t find a better outlet for my excitement - they were written literally in a fiery outburst...” the composer said about these marches, calling them “republican.”

The defeat of the revolution, which led to the disappointment of many figures of the Schumann generation, was also reflected in his creative evolution. During the years of the ensuing reaction, Schumann's art began to decline. Of the works he created in the early 60s, only a few are at the level of his previous ones best essays. The picture of the composer’s life in the last decade was also complex and contradictory. On the one hand, this is a period of gaining fame, which is undoubtedly the merit of Clara Schumann. Concerting a lot, she included her husband's works in her programs. In 1844, Schumann traveled to Russia with Clara, and in 1846 - to Prague, Berlin, Vienna, and in 1851-1853 - to Switzerland and Belgium.

The performance of scenes from Faust during the celebration of the centenary of Goethe's birth (Dresden, Leipzig, Weimar) was widely successful.

However, during the years of growing recognition (from the mid-40s), the composer became increasingly isolated in himself. The progressive disease made it extremely difficult to communicate with people. He had to give up his journalistic activities back in 1844, when, in search of a secluded place, the Schumanns moved to Dresden (1844-1849). Due to his painful reticence, Schumann was forced to stop his teaching work at the Leipzig Conservatory, where in 1843 he taught composition and score reading classes. The position of city conductor in Düsseldorf, where the Schumanns moved in 1850, was painful for him, since he could not command the attention of the orchestra. The leadership of the city's choral societies was no less burdensome because Schumann did not sympathize with the atmosphere of sentimentality and bourgeois complacency that reigned in them.

At the beginning of 1854 mental illness Schumann took on threatening forms. He was placed in a private hospital in the city of Endenich near Bonn. There he died on June 29, 1856.

He was forbidden to love, ordered to forget about Clara Wieck... But he still married for love. The wife was not only talented and a match for her husband, but also devoted to him until her death...

Become a genius first

Born 1810, in Zwickau (Germany). He was raised surrounded by admiration and adoration. After all, the boy with early childhood showed extraordinary abilities in literature and music. However, after Robert graduated from high school in his native Zwickau, his mother did not believe that her son could become famous composer. After all, how much can you earn a living from music? And how can you compete with the likes of Mendelssohn or Chopin? How wrong she was! Indeed, despite the years spent studying law, Robert absolutely decided: music comes first for him.

He gave up everything to develop his talent. But another impetus was the separation from his married mistress Agnes Carus. Having met at the house of an acquaintance, he fell in love with her singing, but this romance did not have a happy ending. Although... Whatever is done is all for the better: it was Agnes who brought Robert to Professor Vic. After some time, Schumann settled in the house of his mentor and music teacher Friedrich Wieck. Six to seven hours at the piano, developing his fingers, was not the limit for him. He would love to play all day long. By the way, due to excessive zeal, the future composer developed anemia in his hand.

Pianist from God

In addition to being a gifted student, Vic also had a very talented daughter. Her name was Clara. When she was five, her father divorced her mother. And two years later, Friedrich had already painted future fate daughter, presenting her at the altar of music. Already at the age of eleven she performed solo for the first time, and a year later she went on tour. Submission came to an end when she met Robert Schumann. He was nine years older than her, but music erased this boundary between them.

Robert Schumann looked at her differently

Years passed, and the little smiling girl turned into a real lady. She was already seventeen, and Robert could not take her away from her eye. They spent a lot of time together, and Schumann decided to confess his feelings. This happened when she went out to accompany him to the door late in the evening. Robert suddenly turned around and kissed her. Clara almost lost consciousness - her heart was fluttering so much. He proposed to her, and the girl agreed. The lovers even went to Schumann's mother for a blessing.

The only one who did not perceive them as a couple was Clara's father. Perhaps paternal jealousy arose in him... It is absolutely certain that he refused such a dysfunctional son-in-law. Not only does he not have sufficient finances, but there are also rumors about depression and drunkenness, in which he drowns his worries.

Friedrich Wieck took his daughter on a long tour. Clara was strictly forbidden to communicate or correspond with each other! There came a time of silence that lasted a year and a half, followed by a four-year war for happiness.

If you really love...

Separation improved well-being Schumann but his heart is still it hurt. He was going to do everything in his power and get Clara back!

“Are you still faithful and firm? – Robert timidly wrote in a letter. “No matter how unshakably I believe in you, even the most steadfast courage will waver when nothing is heard about what is dearer to a person than anything else in the world.” And for me, the most important thing in the world is you.”

She was glad to hear from him, but her father still stood between them. Nevertheless, Clara replied: “Are you asking me only for a simple yes? Such a tiny word, and so important? But really, a heart full of inexpressible love, like mine, should not utter this word with all its soul? This is what I do, and my soul whispers an eternal “yes” to you.

Defend your fate in court

In June 1839, the Royal Court of Appeal of the city of Leipzig accepted a petition from famous composer Robert Schumann. The address said: “We, the undersigned and Clara Wieck, have had a common and heartfelt desire to unite with each other for several years now. However, Clara's father, Friedrich Wieck, a piano dealer, despite numerous friendly requests, stubbornly refuses to give his consent. Therefore, we make the most humble request to force the said gentleman to give his fatherly blessing for us to enter into a marriage union, or to deign to give his most merciful permission instead.”

Of course, such an action entailed huge scandal. Conciliation meetings were held repeatedly, but Vic refused to appear in court. Moreover, he set unimaginable conditions for his son-in-law (mainly of a financial nature). When Schumann refused, the father of his beloved did a completely ungentlemanly act, denigrating the names of the young people, spreading disgusting rumors.

In December, Vic had to appear before a judge. He did not abandon attempts to accuse Schumann of all mortal sins. A family quarrel has escalated into something completely incomprehensible. The judge had to urge Vic to calm down several times. But when Clara was asked with whom she wanted to leave the hall, and the answer was: “With my beloved,” her father went completely mad, shouting: “Then I will curse you! And God forbid, one day you will come to my house as a beggar, with a bunch of children!” That day she cried a lot, and Schumann wrote in his notebook: “Never forget what Clara had to go through for you!”

Friedrich Wieck managed to delay the process for another six months, but he lost. Moreover, after the trial, Clara’s father was sentenced to 18 days in prison for slandering Schumann.

with Clara Wieck

Jokingly Schumann V last time before the wedding he warned the girl: “I have many shortcomings, dear. And one is simply unbearable. To the people I love most, I try to prove my love by doing everything to spite them. For example, you will tell me: “Dear Robert, answer this letter, it has been lying around for a long time.” And what do you think I will do? I will find a thousand reasons not to do this - under no circumstances!.. And also, dear, you need to know that I receive the most sincere expressions of love coldly, and I offend those I love the most the most... That’s just the way I am horrible man" But her love was too great to give up because of such a trifle.

On September 12, 1840, Robert and Clara finally married. Schumann thanked heaven and the Almighty for this gift. He composed 138 wonderful songs- hymns of triumphant love. And Clara gave him all this creative power. Having become one, they eclipsed their rivals with their music. Only when Vic was convinced that his son-in-law had achieved universal recognition and fame did he write: “Dear Schumann! Now we shouldn't be far from each other. You are also a father now, why the long explanations? Your father Friedrich Wieck is waiting for you with joy.”

Black cloud

In Leipzig, the couple's house became a real center of the city's musical life. But the whole problem was that he was called "the salon of the incomparable Clara." Despite being popular and truly recognized Schumann he works hard, he is loved and his home is full bowl... He suffers, considering his existence to be just a shadow of his wife’s bright life. In two months of concerts, Clara earned more than he did in a year. His soul inevitably plunged into the darkness of madness. Schumann fell ill and began to have hallucinations.

“Ah, Clara, I am not worthy of your love. I know I’m sick and I want to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.”

He went out from there one day to drown himself. However, he was saved, and the rest of his life Schumann looked at the world from the window of the room, not seeing his children and wife. Only two days before her death, Clara was allowed to visit Robert. But he could no longer tell her anything... In 1856, the composer died.

The end of the road for Clara Schumann

She moved to Baden-Baden. She successfully toured the cities of Europe. Clara remained a famous pianist until her death. In 1878 she received an invitation to become the "first piano teacher" at the newly founded Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main, where she taught for 14 years. Clara edited the works Robert Schumann and published a number of his letters. Mine last concert she gave March 12, 1891. She was 71 years old. Five years later, Clara Schumann suffered from apoplexy and died a few months later at the age of 76. According to her wishes, she was buried in Bonn at the Old Cemetery next to her husband.

DATA

Robert and Clara had eight children. Schumann accompanied his wife to concerts trips, and she often performed her husband’s music.

Schumann was a teacher at the Leipzig Conservatory, founded by F. Mendelssohn.

In 1844, Schumann and his wife went on tour to St. Petersburg and Moscow, where they were received with great honor.

Introduction

Robert Schumann (German) Robert Schumann; June 8, 1810, Zwickau - July 29, 1856, Endenich (now one of the urban districts of Bonn) - German (Saxon) composer, conductor, music critic, teacher. One of the most significant composers of the first half of the 19th century. (Style - German romanticism, artistic direction - Leipzig school.)

1. Biography

Born in Zwickau (Saxony) on June 8, 1810 in the family of book publisher and writer August Schumann (1773-1826). Schumann took his first music lessons from a local organist; at the age of 10 he began composing, in particular choral and orchestral music. He attended high school in his hometown, where he became acquainted with the works of J. Byron and Jean Paul, becoming their passionate admirer. The moods and images of this romantic literature were eventually reflected in Schumann's musical work. As a child, he became involved in professional literary work, composing articles for an encyclopedia published by his father's publishing house. He was seriously interested in philology and carried out pre-publishing proofreading of a large Latin dictionary. And Schumann’s school literary works were written at such a level that they were posthumously published as an appendix to the collection of his mature journalistic works. At a certain period of his youth, Schumann even hesitated whether to choose the career of a writer or a musician.

In 1828 he entered the University of Leipzig, and the following year he moved to the University of Heidelberg. At the insistence of his mother, he planned to become a lawyer, but music attracted the young man more and more. He was attracted by the idea of ​​becoming a concert pianist. In 1830, he received his mother's permission to devote himself entirely to music and returned to Leipzig, where he hoped to find a suitable mentor. There he began taking piano lessons from F. Wieck and composition from G. Dorn. In an effort to become a real virtuoso, he practiced with fanatical persistence, but this is precisely what led to trouble: while forcing exercises with a mechanical device to strengthen the muscles of the arm, he injured his right arm. The middle finger stopped working and, despite long-term treatment, the hand became forever incapable of virtuoso piano playing. I had to give up the idea of ​​becoming a professional pianist. Then Schumann seriously took up composition and, at the same time, musical criticism. Having found support in the persons of Friedrich Wieck, Ludwig Schunke and Julius Knorr, Schumann was able in 1834 to found one of the most influential musical periodicals - the New Musical Journal (German). Neue Zeitschrift für Musik) who edited and regularly published his articles in it for several years. He established himself as a supporter of the new and a fighter against the obsolete in art, against the so-called philistines, that is, with those who, with their limitations and backwardness, hindered the development of music and represented a stronghold of conservatism and burgherism.

In October 1838, the composer moved to Vienna, but already in early April 1839 he returned to Leipzig. In 1840, the University of Leipzig awarded Schumann the title of Doctor of Philosophy. In the same year, on September 12, in a church in Schönfeld, Schumann’s marriage took place with the daughter of his teacher, an outstanding pianist, Clara Wieck. In the year of his marriage, Schumann created about 140 songs. Several years of Robert and Clara's life together passed happily. They had eight children. Schumann accompanied his wife on concert tours, and she, in turn, often performed her husband’s music. Schumann taught at the Leipzig Conservatory, founded in 1843 by F. Mendelssohn.

In 1844, Schumann and his wife went on a tour to St. Petersburg and Moscow, where they were received with great honor. In the same year, Schumann moved from Leipzig to Dresden. There, signs of a nervous disorder first appeared. It was not until 1846 that Schumann recovered enough to be able to compose again.

In 1850, Schumann received an invitation to the post of city director of music in Düsseldorf. However, disagreements soon began there, and in the fall of 1853 the contract was not renewed. In November 1853, Schumann and his wife went on a trip to Holland, where he and Clara were received “with joy and honor.” However, in the same year, symptoms of the disease began to appear again. At the beginning of 1854, after an exacerbation of his illness, Schumann attempted to commit suicide by throwing himself into the Rhine, but was saved. He had to be placed in a psychiatric hospital in Endenich near Bonn, where he died on July 29, 1856. Buried in Bonn.

2. Creativity

An intellectual and an esthete, Schumann's music, more than any other composer, reflected the deeply personal nature of Romanticism. His early music, introspective and often whimsical, was an attempt to break with the tradition of classical forms and structures, which he considered too limited. In many ways akin to the poetry of G. Heine, Schumann’s work challenged the spiritual wretchedness of Germany in the 1820s - 1840s and called into the world of high humanity. The heir of F. Schubert and K. M. Weber, Schumann developed the democratic and realistic tendencies of German and Austrian musical romanticism. Little understood during his lifetime, much of his music is now regarded as bold and original in harmony, rhythm and form. His works are closely related to the traditions of German classical music.

Most of Schumann's piano works are cycles of small pieces of lyrical-dramatic, visual and “portrait” genres, connected by an internal plot and psychological line. One of the most typical cycles is “Carnival” (1835), in which a colorful string of scenes, dances, masks, female characters (among them Chiarina - Clara Wieck), musical portraits of Paganini and Chopin take place. Close to “Carnival” are the cycles “Butterflies” (1831, based on the work of Jean Paul) and “Davidsbündlers” (1837). The cycle of plays "Kreisleriana" (1838, named after literary hero E. T. A. Hoffmann - musician-visionary Johannes Kreisler) belongs to highest achievements Schumann. World romantic images, passionate melancholy, heroic impulse are reflected in such works by Schumann for piano as “Symphonic Etudes” (“Etudes in the form of Variations”, 1834), sonatas (1835, 1835-38, 1836), Fantasia (1836-38), concert for piano and orchestra (1841-45). Along with works of variation and sonata types, Schumann has piano cycles built on the principle of a suite or an album of plays: “Fantastic passages” (1837), “Children’s scenes” (1838), “Album for youth” (1848), etc.

In his vocal work, Schumann developed the type of lyrical song of F. Schubert. In his subtly developed drawings of songs, Schumann displayed the details of moods, poetic details of the text, and the intonations of a living language. The significantly increased role of piano accompaniment in Schumann gives a rich outline of the image and often explains the meaning of the songs. The most popular of his vocal cycles is “The Poet’s Love” based on poems by G. Heine (1840). It consists of 16 songs, in particular, “Oh, if only the flowers were guessed”, or “I hear the sounds of songs”, “I meet you in the morning in the garden”, “I’m not angry”, “In a dream I cried bitterly”, “You are evil , evil songs." Another narrative vocal cycle is “Love and the Life of a Woman” based on verses by A. Chamisso (1840). Songs of various meanings are included in the cycles “Myrtle” based on poems by F. Rückert, J. W. Goethe, R. Burns, G. Heine, J. Byron (1840), “Around Songs” based on poems by J. Eichendorff (1840). In vocal ballads and scene songs, Schumann touched on a very wide range of subjects. A striking example of Schumann's civil lyricism is the ballad “Two Grenadiers” (to the verses of G. Heine). Some of Schumann's songs are simple scenes or everyday portrait sketches: their music is close to German folk songs ("Folk Song" based on poems by F. Rückert, etc.).

In the oratorio “Paradise and Pere” (1843, based on the plot of one of the parts of the “oriental” novel “Lalla Rook” by T. Moore), as well as in “Scenes from Faust” (1844-53, according to J. V. Goethe), Schumann came close to realizing his long-time dream of creating an opera. Schumann's only completed opera, Genoveva (1848), based on a medieval legend, did not gain recognition on the stage. Schumann's music for the dramatic poem "Manfred" by J. Byron (overture and 15 musical numbers, 1849) was a creative success.

In the composer’s 4 symphonies (the so-called “Spring”, 1841; the Second, 1845-46; the so-called “Rhenish”, 1850; the Fourth, 1841-51) bright, cheerful moods prevail. A significant place in them is occupied by episodes of song, dance, lyric and painting nature.

Schumann made great contributions to musical criticism. Promoting the work of classical musicians on the pages of his magazine, fighting against the anti-artistic phenomena of our time, he supported the new European romantic school. Schumann castigated virtuoso dandyism, indifference to art, which hides under the guise of good intentions and false scholarship. The main fictional characters on whose behalf Schumann spoke on the pages of print are the ardent, furiously daring and ironic Florestan and the gentle dreamer Eusebius. Both of them embodied the character traits of the same composer.

Schumann's ideals were close to the leading musicians of the 19th century. He was highly regarded by Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, and Franz Liszt. In Russia, Schumann’s work was promoted by A. G. Rubinstein, P. I. Tchaikovsky, G. A. Laroche, and members of the “Mighty Handful”.

3. Major works

Here are presented works that are often used in concert and pedagogical practice in Russia, as well as works of large scale, but rarely performed.

3.1. For piano

    Variations on the theme "Abegg"

    Butterflies, op. 2

    Davidsbündler Dances, Op. 6

  • Carnival, op. 9

    Three sonatas:

    • Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, op. eleven

      Sonata No. 3 in F minor, op. 14

      Sonata No. 2 in G minor, op. 22

    • Fantastic Pieces, op. 12

    Symphonic Etudes, op. 13

    Scenes from Children, Op. 15

    Kreisleriana, op. 16

    Fantasia in C major, op. 17

    Arabesque, op. 18

    Humoresque, op. 20

    Novellettes, op. 21

    Night Pieces, op. 23

    Vienna Carnival, op. 26

    Album for Youth, op. 68

    Forest Scenes, op. 82

    Variegated Leaves, op.

99

    3.2. Concerts

    Concerto for piano and orchestra in A minor, op. 54

    Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra, op. 86

    Introduction and Allegro Appassionato for piano and orchestra, op. 92

    Concerto for cello and orchestra, op. 129

    Concerto for violin and orchestra, 1853

    Introduction and Allegro for piano and orchestra, op.

    134

Fantasy Pieces for clarinet and piano, op.73

    Märchenerzählungen, Op.132

    3.3. Vocal works

    "Circle of Songs", op. 35 (lyrics by Heine, 9 songs)

    "Myrtles", op. 25 (poems by various poets, 26 songs)

    "Circle of Songs", op. 39 (lyrics by Eichendorff, 20 songs)

    "Love and Life of a Woman", op. 42 (lyrics by A. von Chamisso, 8 songs)

    "The Poet's Love", op. 48 (lyrics by Heine, 16 songs)

    "Seven songs. In memory of the poetess (Elizabeth Kulman", op. 104 (1851)

"Poems of Queen Mary Stuart", op. 135, 5 songs (1852)

    "Genoveva". Opera (1848)

    Symphony No. 2 in C major, op. 61

    Symphony No. 3 in E flat major “Rhenish”, op.

    97

    Symphony No. 4 in D minor, op. 120

    Overture to the tragedy "Manfred" (1848)

Overture "Bride of Messina"

    5. Bibliography

    Schumann R. "Franz Liszt" (Fragments from the article) Memoirs of Robert Schumann / Compilation, comments, preface O. V. Loseva.

    Per. A. V. Mikhailova and O. V. Loseva. - M.: Composer, 2000. ISBN 5-85285-225-2 ISBN 5-89598-076-7 Grokhotov S. V.

    Per. A. V. Mikhailova and O. V. Loseva. - M.: Composer, 2000. ISBN 5-85285-225-2 ISBN 5-89598-076-7 Schumann and surroundings. Romantic walks through the “Album for Youth”.

    M., 2006. ISBN 5-89817-159-2 Schumann: Carnival. - M., 2009. ISBN 978-5-89817-285-5

    Zhitomirsky D.V. Robert and Clara Schumann in Russia. – M., 1962.

    Zhitomirsky D. V. Robert Schumann: Essay on Life and Work. - M., 1964. (2nd ed. M., 2000.)

    Karminsky M. V. Drama of the life of Robert Schumann // Kharkiv Assemblies-1995.

    International Music Festival “Robert Schumann and Mysterious Youth”: Collection of materials / Superintendent G. I. Hansburg. - Kharkiv, 1995. - P. 7-18. Ganzburg G. I. Song Theater of Robert Schumann // Musical Academy. - 2005. - No. 1. - P. 106-119.

    Robert Schumann and the crossroads of music and literature: Sat. scientific works / Comp. Ganzburg G. I.

    - Kharkov: RA - Karavella, 1997. - 272 p. ISBN 966-7012-26-3.

    Sviridenko S.

    Schumann and his songs. - St. Petersburg, 1911. Schumann's recordings on the website ArtOfPiano.ru

    Robert Schumann Russian-language site dedicated to the composer

Robert Schumann: Sheet music of works on

    International Music Score Library Project

Music festival “Schumann Resonances”

Bibliography: in some sources they add his middle name Alexander

Schumann's work, associated with previous (Schubert, Beethoven) traditions, has many points of contact with the late romantics - Liszt, Wagner, Bruckner, and especially directly leads to Brahms. Schumann (together with Chopin) occupies a central position in the history of musical romanticism. Schumann's romanticism undergoes a significant evolution: it begins to form in the late 20s - a connection with Jean Paul (Jena school), Hoffmann, the 30s - a stormy climax (the Sturmer years), the mid-40s - it evolves towards the objectification of the artist. method, emotional balance. Significant connections with classical traditions(symphonies, vocal-speaker genres). At the very end of his career, Schumann loses his artistic originality.

Such qualities were concentrated in him. romanticism as intimacy, sincerity, psychologism. And another pole of German romance. essence - irony, imbued with pain and longing for unattainable beauty. Two facets, two types of hero, reflecting the two-sided essence of Schumann’s conflict perception = Florestan and Eusebius. A generalization of the two principles of Schumann's romanticism - the all-pervasive, spiritual quiet tone of dreams and the rebelliousness of the impulse, the frenzy of fantasy, irony, laughter. Both images are closely related to each other.

There is another antithesis - images of folk-national tradition, the sphere of the epic. Hence Schumann’s two lines - subjective-psychological (fortune and vocal lyrics) and objective-genre, legendary-epic (symphonies, oratorios), which oppose each other (intertwined with each other in fantasy in C major - contrasting planes of images). And yet the main thing for Schumann is the sphere of spirituality and intimacy of feelings. And in this emphasis on the inner, psychological world (increased in comparison with Schubert), Sh. reflected the general direction of the evolution of romanticism.



The method of revealing Schumann's spiritual, lyrical world - through the contrasts of emotional movements the inner thread is shown psychological development. Attention to psychological analysis(similar to the fort. and vocal miniatures of Schumann and the operas of Wagner). For Schumann, the symbolic connection within the antithesis is important - the real world and fantasy (universal for all romanticism). Sh.’s figurative contrasts are the essence of life, its new comprehension. Schumann strives to understand life in all its manifestations, the philosophical embrace of reality, the reaction to everything that happens in the world, and especially in his country.

Attitude to form. New musical form, born of romantic aesthetics. Free alternation of images, frequent and sudden changes of mood, switching from one plane to another. There are a lot of cycles!

Schumann's method was based on a romantically understood dialectic based on the idea of ​​​​the incompatibility of the ideal and reality, the desired and the existing, the duality of the external and the internal.

The spiritual formation of Sh. began in the 20s, when Romanticism in Germany had its heyday in literature. The impulses all came from literature. In Schumann, music and literature are very closely intertwined. Synthesis of arts, penetration musical beginning into literature, especially poetry, and vice versa. Combination in vocal genres, in an address to literary images and stories. Next - “Novelettes”, short story cycles, lyrical miniatures (A leaf from an album, plays with the titles “The Poet Speaks”, etc.) Schumann believed that the title of a work enhances the power of music. The literary-plot principle is reflected not in direct programming (which also occurs), but more internally and freely - in the peculiarities of the course of musical development.

Features of creative evolution: mastered it systematically: piano - vocals - chamber genres- concert - symphony - oratorio - opera - sacred music. Published opuses - 147 in various genres: miniatures, songs, symphonies, oratorios, operas. There were a number of pre-release works of different genres - piano, songs, youth. symphonies, quartets. Actually got a good one musical education. Then I spent my whole life educating myself - gaining knowledge. This is a composer with excellent technique, incl. polyphonic.

(1810-1856) the same age as Chopin, Liszt, Wagner, Mendelssohn - he knew everyone. Not many people spent more than 20 years in an active period of creativity. 2.5 years in a hospital at the end of life. Created a lot. Continuator of Beethoven's line. Schumann is both a classicist and a romantic. Schumann's universalism is also reflected in the choice of genres: there are lyrical rhapsodic plays, and classical genres- sonatas, symphonies, ensembles. The synthesis of the classical and the romantic is important. In all periods of creativity, both are natural. I didn’t play the organ, but there are 6 fugues on BACH - and this is how I entered organ music. Children's music (for youth - not the author's title - “43 characteristic pieces”). Opera - it’s hard to imagine the development of opera without Genoveva. Those. in all areas in which he worked he left a significant mark.

The question of periodization of creativity very important. Each period has its own tone, character, and its own dominant.

Early period– late 20s and early 30s (before Carnival) passes under a sign of literary and pianistic studies, the struggle for the right to become a musician. Student years - first Leipzig, then Heidelberg. Traveling in Italy and Switzerland.

30-egg- search in the genre sphere, writing style. The period of “Storm and Drang”, the rapid rise of his genius. Creator of his own romantic piano style. He is all about artistic impulse, creative movement. Creates: “Carnival”, “Symphonic Etudes”, sonatas “Kreisleriana”, fantasy in C major, “Dances of the Davidsbündlers”, short stories, “Fantastic Pieces”, “Children’s Scenes”, “Night Pieces”. His literary-critical activity is actively developing. In 1834, in Leipzig, Schumann created his magazine "New Musical Journal". Schumann's responsibilities in the magazine were multifaceted - he was the publisher, editor, and author of most of the articles. He defended the traditions of the classics and paved the way for true innovation for the future generation. Articles about Chopin, Berlioz, Brahms. Schumann is credited with discovering the symphonic genius of Schubert.

Middle period- 40s- marriage, going beyond piano music. Growing creative activity, expansion of the genre system. Leipzig stage (before the trip to Russia in 1844) and Dresden stage (1844-1850) Shift to other genres. Songs: 1840 – “Circle of Songs” (Heine), “Myrtles” and the second “Circle of Songs” (Eichendorff), “Love and Life of a Woman” (Chamisso) “Love of a Poet” (Heine). Then turns to large forms of instrumental and vocal music. Piano concerto, first symphony, three string quartets, fort. ensembles (quintet and quartet in Es major), oratorio “Paradise and Peri”. The development of the lyrical-romantic channel, the implementation of classical forms along with the objectification of the theme.

Dresden (after a trip to Russia).New sides of creativity. Dresden played an outstanding role in the history of German romantic opera(Weber arrives, Wagner). Opera "Genoveva". Another line of Schumann's interests is the classics (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven). He takes part in a meeting of the Bach Society, studies the scores of Mozart's operas, and listens to Fidelio. He writes “Requiem for Mignon” to the poems of Goethe’s “Wilhelm Meister”. The idea of ​​the oratorio “Scenes from Goethe’s Faust” (finished in Düsseldorf in 1853). Many choral works (connected with his activities) were stimulated by the revolution (48-49) and the uprising in Düsseldorf in 1849. "Manfred." 1844 - seriously ill. It took a long time to come out - immersion in Bach - a change in the type of composition, in the way of composing music. Baroque flow, polyphony intensifies.

Late period 50s. The internal struggle is the struggle between creativity and the extinction of spiritual forces. Last years Schumann - meeting and communication with Brahms (1853). I spent 2.5 years in a hospital.

Many genres are associated with life circumstances. For example, the choirs - Dresden and Düsseldorf - were led by different groups. Music for children - 2 albums, 3 sonatas, a lot for 4 hands - was written just in those years when his eldest daughters were growing up.

Schumann, the son of a publisher, also wrote, and made translations. Schumann has been involved in this since childhood. Later, when publishing, I took into account all aspects of the practical component.

Together with Schumann, high literature came to music, often in an untouched form, unadapted. Experiments, innovations of Schumann. He was interested in new things in literature - a very short time period separated the publication of literature and its use by Schumann.

He made a huge contribution to the development of musical expressive means - harmony, recitation, form - monothematic compositions - 4th symphony, piano concert. The innovation of the carnival is provocative names, in short, the technique of working with four notes.

Special genre mixes - concert piece, oratorio and opera, theater play and oratorio, vocal cycle and memorial article?

The periods of creativity are illuminated and presented in concert practice unevenly. More attention is paid to the early, from the middle sample, late - great amount works, but we know very little.

Even during his lifetime they began to say: “Schumann began as a genius, but ended as a talent.” Not entirely true. Nowadays the creative heritage is overestimated.

"Manfred"- an outstanding example of romantic symphonism. The overture was written in 1848, music for the poem by Manfred Byron. She defined many of the characteristic features of the new stage of musical romanticism. The image of the hero himself - “Faust of the 19th century”, the composition of the overture, its means of expression They bring Schumann’s work closer to Liszt’s poetic symphonism and the stylistic features of Wagner’s dramas. [Music of Austria and Germany].