German Musicians' Creative Way And History Of Success - Essay Example

German Musicians' Creative Way And History Of Success Briefly talk about Robert Schumann. (A page and a half to two pages) include basic information including birthrate, death and his career as a composer and performer. Robert Schumann (1810-1856) the romantic poet belonged to Germany. To be specific, he was born in Zwickau on 8th June and died on 29th July. His father was a bookseller. At the young age, his sterling abilities as a pianist, composing and latent literary leanings were showing. He was fascinated by the writings of ‘Jean Paul’ (J. P. F. Richter), fond of drinking champagne and association with girl friends. He continued with these hobbies for a long time. He wished to pursue law but reverted to develop and polish his intrinsic talents in music. He was engaged in social and literary activities as well. Besides composing piano music, he became the pupil of Friedrich Wieck for his music pursuits. He wished to further his knowledge of music, but on family records, he was studying law at Heidelberg. The desire to shape as a pianist was so strong in him, ultimately he persuaded his family to see the writings on the wall, that he was a born musician and piano was his weapon to further his career. In 1830 he left for Leipzig to live with Wieck, his piano teacher. But soon he had health-related problems and that probably was his own doing. He wished to strengthen his fingers and that medication resulted in a syphilitic sore. His compositions however continued unabated and there was no stopping of his piano works. His knowledge on piano music was in full bloom by 1834. In the same year he founded a music journal, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Writing on a specialized topic like piano music was not for everybody, and besides being the editor of the magazine, he was the leading writer for a decade. He was a great critic of music. His perception about the musical notes was brilliant. Many young music composers became ardent fans of his music. He used pseudonyms, Eusebius for his lyrical, contemplative side, Florestan, for his fiery, impetuous side. In music also he used the pseudonyms. He did them for piano. “ they include variations on the name of one of his lady friends, Abegg (the musical notes A-B-E-G-G), the character-pieces Davidsbündlertänze ('Dances of the league of David', an imaginary association of those fighting the Philistines), Carnaval (pieces with literary or other allusive meanings, including one on the notes A-S-C-H after the place another girl friend came from), Phantasiestücke (a collection of poetic pieces depicting moods), Kreisleriana (fantasy pieces around the character of a mad Kapellmeister) and Kinderszenen ('Scenes from Childhood').” (Robert….) Love-pangs dominated major part of his life. His love-smitten heart reached somewhat stability when he found the final frontiers of love in Clara, Wieck’s young daughter, with whom he fell in love. Wieck strongly protested and did father’s duty of separating them. But both of them were steadfast in their love. In 1837, they had decided that they were born for each other, and since they were much apart, Schumann underwent and suffered a period of depression. In 1839, Clara had attained the legally eligible age to get married and finally they succeeded in their efforts in 1840. The golden period in his life as for songs, commenced. The longings of his heart found expression in his love-poems. Love is a bird with colorful wings, caged in the heart of lovers. It moves in the heart with tantalizing speed to make the lover a bard. That was the position of Schumann. He wrote circa 150 songs. Some of his immortal love songs are Frauenliebe und –leben (‘A Woman’s Love and life’) and Dichterliebe(‘A Poet’s Love’) etc. The pangs of love found expression in these poems. Piano proved to be a great musical instrument for him and he brought his heart out through its notes and vibrations. The music crested the telling effect and mesmerized the audience. His various experiments in music continued, he hopped from one area of the musical experiment to another, many times emerged successful and finally his deep depression took the toll of his musical talents in the year 1852. In 1852-53, his health and more particularly his spirits were on the wane. In 1854 his psychological weakness resulted in the attack of hallucinations and he attempted suicide. He thought he would turn mad and that fear continuously confronted him. The effects of syphilis took its toll and he died in 1856 in a mental asylum, and at the end Clara and the young Brahmas took care of him. Briefly talk about Heinrich Heine, the poet of the song cycle Dichterliebe. The original name of Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) was Harry Heine. He was a great German poet of Jewish origin. His lyrics caught the imagination of great composers like Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Schumann! Writers and Poets react strongly to the external stimuli. He lived through the important political developments of the time. The society was in utter turmoil. The French Revolution (1789-99) and the Napoleonic wars deeply impacted his thinking. He was one of the pivotal literary figures in Paris, where he lived from 1831 until his death. Heine’s immortal poem “Die Lorelei” was set to music by Silcher in 1837. It has proved to be one of the all-time popular German songs. He was born in Düsseldorf. His father was a businessman. When the business failed, Heine went to Hamburg to be with his banker uncle Solomon. Uncle wished him to take the commercial career but Heine was interested in literature. Ultimately he took a degree in 1825. Jews were not permitted to enter civil service at that time, and in order to make it, Heine converted to Protestantism. Harry became Heinrich. But he never became a government servant. His teacher in Berlin, G.W.F. Heel, deeply influenced him. Those who know German must know this poem of Heine, written for Therese Heine. “Du bist wie eine Blume so hold und schön und rein; ich schau' dich an, und Wehmut schleicht mir ins Herz hinein. Mir ist, als ob ich die Hände aufs Haupt dir legen sollt', betend, dass Grott dich erhalte so rein und schön und hold.” "You're so lovely as a flower, So pure and fair to see; I look at you, and sadness Comes stealing over me.”(Henrich….) Briefly discuss Robert Schumann's love with Clara Weick and the struggles they had to go through to finally get married. Clara Schumann (1819 - 1896), a famous pianist of her time, became the wife of another famous pianist of the era, Robert Schumann, who was incidentally the student of Clara’s father. He fell in love but her father rejected the proposal outright. On August 14, 1837 they got engaged secretly, and the marriage took place on September 12, 1840. The legal age to marry was 21 in those times, and Clara kept up the date with her destiny by marrying her love one day before she turned 21. Her first public performance was on October 20, 1828 at Gewandhaus. She was 9 then and after 2 years she gave the solo concert on November 8, 1830.Clara had a loveless childhood, as her parents divorced and they found their partners. She was just 5 years old. As a teenager she fell in love with Robert Schumann, one of the boarding piano students of her father. The age-gap between the two was 9 years, Schumann was elder, and when he began his studentship, Clara was just 11. The obvious development took place. When Wieck came to know about the blossoming love-relationship between the two, he flew into a rage, and threatened to shoot Robert. He has valid reasons to oppose the match, apart from the age difference, because Schumann suffered from bouts of depression, took to alcoholic drinks, had relationships with other women and had no means to support a spouse! Wieck meant business, they were not allowed to see each other and communication between them was barred. Common friends came to the rescue by delivering letters addressed in code. Wieck, however encouraged the musical talents of Schumann, while strongly opposing the alliance with his daughter. Finally Schumann had to take legal measures against Wieck, who would not budge from his stand as for marriage, and after a year’s court proceedings Schumann won the battle of love. Clara was a day short of 21 then. Discuss IN DEPTH the song cycle Dichterliebe. Are there any themes in the poetry and the music? How does he set each song, why is this song cycle so influential? What are some important musical traits in the song cycle? Wordsworth defined poetry thus: “The spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” “Emily Dickinson said: "If I read a book and it makes my body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry;" One of the important characteristics of the song cycle Dichterliebe is the economy of language. The emotive qualities of the words used and its musical values are significant. Word choice and form are both noteworthy. The hallmark of a successful poem is that it needs to invoke in the reader a fountain of emotions that intensely affects the human heart like sorrow, joy, anger and above all love! It must also reveal to the reader elements of truth and beauty. But, in the final analysis, poetry can not be chained in any sort of definition. Each poet sees a new horizon and therefore he becomes special. The best definition of poetry is not to define it. The song cycle Dichterliebe belongs to the last category. Richard Miller says about Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, “Within Schumann’s subliminal self, intense literary and musical interests vied for expression. His propensity for creativity, fusing music and literature is apparent not only in his poem but also in the programmatic, extra-musical aspects of the piano forte and orchestral works. Schumann was not alone in promoting this aspect of Romanticism: his tendencies were reinforced by prevailing attitudes within the artistic coterie to which he belonged.”(Miller, 1999, p, 4) Keith Anderson writes, “At this period it was not yet apparent that Schumann would be counted one day among the ideal composers of settings of Heine’s poems, poems that completely suit the cadences of folk-song, yet interrupted by disillusioning changes of mood. In the foreground in Heine’s poems are often unhappy love affairs, but behind this long-familiar motif lies more: modern world-weariness, and suffering at the short-comings of contemporary society.”(Anderson…) In Dichterlibe the plight of the disappointed lover, not exactly the defeated lover is highlighted. In truelove, there is no victory or defeat. True love is such that it doesn’t expect to be loved back. It is easy to make such assertions sitting on the ivory tower of love. But one who has suffered only knows about the pangs of love. If it is that easy to bear the pangs of love, thousands of glowworms would not have offered their lives to the glow of light. There are tragic lovers who walk for life with their hearts afire! Most of the song cycle of Dichterlibe belongs to this category. In these poems the figure of the woman remains shadowy, and the poet is engaged in the recollection of the past, and his present mental state is not at all sound! The memories of sadness haunt him irresistibly. “The exactly calculated sequence of original keys corresponds to this arch of emotions…. The cycle ends in a different way: the return to the beginning is given not to the singer but to the pianist. In none of the other song-cycles of Schumann is such an independent rôle given to the piano. Not only do the individual songs often have extended postludes, but the final postlude has rather the independence of a separate piece.” (Anderson) Dichterliebe is Schuann’s crown jewel or the flagship company, whatever one may call it! The timing of the composition and the mental frame at that time is very important for the poet, and it has tremendous bearing on the poet’s creative out put! It is supposed to have composed within 8 days, from 24th to 31st May, 1840. During this period his inspiration must be feverish. After the long and arduous court battle he had won his lady-love, Clara Wieck. Dichterliebe is transposed down and sung by baritones, but its tonal and rhetorical logic is tellingly effective in the original keys. Critics often say that Schumann’s Heine settings are devoid of the poet’s characteristic irony. Schumann was aware of this aspect of the poems. But watch out for the differentiation. In Heine’s irony the text takes the unexpected turn. Schumann provides it the specialized treatment. He develops it, nurtures it not as a musical point that erupts in a single moment, but it maintains the overall tension between the vocal part and the piano accompaniment through the entire song. Take eleventh song for example. Heine speaks about the breaking heart, whereas Suchmann does it with the scornful liveliness of the piano part. The contrast is glaring. In the ninth song, the poet suffers the sorrow of love as the dance-music plays away in the background. What attracted composers like Schumann to Heine? The answer is simple and straightforward and not difficult to see. “His preference for simple strophic meters, his simple language and vivid though sparing imagery, whose import could reach an audience even when the words were sung, his terseness, which would prevent the song from going too long, his penchant for suggesting certain attitudes and emotions without talking about them directly, which leaves the scope for the piano accompaniment and last but not the least, the melodiousness of his language.”(Schumann, 1971, p, 3) Dichterliebe has the makings of a single work, and is an organic unified whole. Though the songs are individual, separate fragments, they are related by association and fantasy. Conclusion: They say, some are born great; some achieve greatness; and some have greatness thrust upon them! Robert Schumann belongs to the second category. Apart from the literary merits, his individual sufferings, traits and negativities that engulfed him in the early part of his life, and the arrival of Clara, who also underwent extraordinary sufferings in her childhood, forsaken by the mother and brought up under a dominant father—all these left a telling impact on his compositions. The intense pain within reflected through the notes. ========== Works Cited: Anderson, Keith: SCHUMANN, R.: Lied Edition, Vol. 2 - Liederkreis, Op. 24 ...From the outset Schumann created song cycles: 8.557075 - SCHUMANN, R.: Lied Edition, Vol. 2 - Liederkreis, Op. 24 / Dichterliebe, Op. 48 English German www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.557075&catNum=557075&filetype.language=English - 23k – Retrieved on April 3, 2009 Heine: Biographical essay on the German poet and satirist. Retrieved on April 3, 2009 Miller, Richard: Book: Singing Schumann: An Interpretive Guide for Performers. Hardcover: 264 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 2, 1999) Language: English ISBN-10: 0195119045 ISBN-13: 978-0195119046 Robert Schumann -Classical Music Pages biographical essay from The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music with detailed information on the symphonies. Retrieved on April 3, 2009 Schumann, Robert: Book: Dichterliebe: An Authoritative Score (Critical Scores) Paperback: 140 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (June 1971) Language: English ISBN-10: 0393099040 ISBN-13: 978-0393099041 Read More