Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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358 1840— SCHUMANN -1843
ol' the world without becoming egotistical. They
lived for one another, and for their children.
He created and wrote for his wife, and in accordance
with her temperament ; while she
looked upon it as her highest privilege to give
to the world the most perfect interpretation of
his works, or at least to stand as mediatrix
between him and his audience, and to ward off
all disturbing or injurious impressions from his
sensitive soul, which day by day became more
and more irritable. Now that he found perfect
contentment in his domestic relations, he withdrew
more than ever from intercourse with
others, and devoted himself exclusively to his
family and his work. The deep joy of his married
life produced the direct result of a mighty
advance in his artistic progress. Schumann's
most beautiful works in the larger forms date
almost exclusively from the years 1841 to 1845.
In 1841 he turned his attention to the Symphony,
as he had done in the previous year to
the Song, and composed, in this year alone, no
fewer than three symphonic works. The Bb
Symphony (op. 38) was performed as early as
March 31, 1841, at a concert given by Olara
Schumann in the Gewandhaus at Leipzig.
Mendelssohn conducted it, and performed the
task with so much zeal and care as truly to
delight his friend. The other two orchestral
works were given at a concert on Deo. 6 of the
same year, but did not meet with so much
success as.the former one. Schumann thought
that the two together were too much at once ;
and they had not the advantageof Mendelssohn's
able and careful direction, for he was spending
that winter in Berlin. Schumann put these
two works away for a time, and published the
Bl> Symphony alone. The proper title of one
of these was Symphonistische ' Phantasie,' but
it was performed under the title of Second
'
Symphony,' and, in 1851, the instrumentation
having been revised and completed, was published
as the 4th Symphony (D minor, op. 120).
The other was brought out under an altered
arrangement, which he made in 1845, with the
title ' Ouverture, Scherzo, et Finale ' (op. 52) ;
and it is said that Schumann originally intended
to call it ' Sinfonietta.' Besides these orchestral
works the first movement of the Pianoforte
Concerto in A minor was written in 1841. It
was at first intended to form an independent
piece with the title of Fantasie.' As appears
'
from a letter of Schumann's to David, it was
once rehearsed by the Gewandhaus orchestra in
the winter of 1841-42. Schumann did not
write the last two movements which complete
the concerto until 1845.
The year 1842 was devoted to chamber music.
The three string quartets deserve to be first
mentioned, since the date of their composition
can be fixed with the greatest certainty.
Although Schumann was unused to .this style
of writing, he composed the quartets in about
a month— a certain sign that his faculties
were as clear as his imagination was rich. In
the autograph,' after most of the movements
is written the date of their completion. The
Adagio of the first quartet bears the date June
21, 1842 ; the finale was finished on ' St. John's
day, June 24, 1842, in Leipzig.' In the second
quartet the second movement is dated July 2,
1842, and the last July 5, 1842, Leipzig. The
third is dated as follows : first movement, July
18, second July 20, third July 21, and the
fourth Leipzig, July 22, all of the same year.
Thus the two last movements took the composer
only one day each. These quartets,
which are dedicated to Mendelssohn, were at
once taken up by the Leipzig musicians with
great interest. The praise bestowed upon them
by Ferdinand David called forth a letter from
Schumann, addressed to him, which merits
quotation, as showing how modest and how
ideal as an artist Schumann was:— 'Hartel
told me how very kindly you had spoken to
him about my quartets, and, coming from you,
it gratified me exceedingly. But 1 shall have
to do better yet, and I feel, with each new
work, as if I ought to begin all over again from
the beginning.' In the beginning of October
of this year the quartets were played at David's
house ; Hauptmann was present, and expressed
his surprise at Schumann's talent, which, judging
only from the earlier pianoforte works, he had
fancied not nearly so great. With each new
work Schumann now made more triumphant
way—at all events in Leipzig. The same year
witnessed the production of that work to which
he ohiefiy owes his fame throughout Europe
the Quintet for Pianoforte and Strings (op. 44).
The first public performance took place in the
Gewandhaus on Jan. 8,
1843, his wife, to whom
it is dedicated, taking the pianoforte part.
Berlioz, who came to Leipzig in 1843, and
there made Schumann's personal acquaintance,
heard the quintet performed, and carried the
fame of it to Paris. Besides the quintet, Schumann
wrote, in 1842, the Pianoforte Quartet
(op. 47) and a Pianoforte Trio. The trio,
however, remained unpublished for eight years,
and then appeared as op. 88, under the title
of Phantasiestiicke ' for Pianoforte, Violin, and
Violoncello.' The quartet too was laid aside for
a time ; it was first publicly performed on Dec. 8,
1844, by Madame Schumann, in the Gewandhaus,
David of course taking the violin part, and
Niels W. Gade, who was directing the Gewandhaus
concerts that winter, playing the viola.
With the year 1843 came a total change of
style. The first work to appear was op. 46,
the Variations for two pianos, which are now
so popular, and to .which Mendelssohn may
have done some service by introducing them to
the public, in company with Mme. Schumann,
on August 19, 1843. The principal work
1 Now in the poflseasion of Herr Raymund Hiirtel, of Leipzig,