Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

more than he would afterwards have maintained.
In later years Schumann's flowery and poetic
vein gave way to a calm and contemplative
style. His opinions and principles remained as
sound as ever, but they are leas keenly and brilliantly
expressed than at the earlier period when
he took peculiar pleasure in turning a flashing
phrase (see Ges. Schriften, vol. i. pp. 27, 208).
Still, the practical musician always predominates,
and Schumann himself confesses that
had assumed was so high that all who took a
serious view of art were forced to gather round
him. Butthe spirit ofagitationwas inflamed, and
when he retired from the paper other principles
of less general application were put forward. It
VOL. IV
SCHUMANN 369
was self-evident that Schumann was the only
contemporary German composer who could stand
side by side with Mendelssohn, and they were
of course compared. It was asserted that in
Mendelssohn form took the precedence of
meaning, while in Schumann meaning predominated,
striving after a new form of utterance.
Thus they were put forward as the
representatives of two antagonistic principles of
art, and a Mendelssohn party and a Schumann
party were formed. In point of fact there was
scarcely any trace of such 'an antagonism of
'
the curse of a mere musician often hits
higher than all your ajsthetics ' {Ibid. ii. 246). principle between the two composers ; the difference
Here and there, however, we come upon a profound
was really one of idiosyncrasy ; and so,
Eesthetio axiom, the value of which is in
no degree diminished by our perception that it
being grounded more or less on personal feeling,
the parties assumed something of the character
is the result rather of intuition than of any of cliques. The literary Schumannites, having
systematic reflection. It is universally acknowledged
the command of an organ of their own, had an
that by his essay 'on certain corrupt advantage over the partisans of Mendelssohn,
passages in classical works ' (IMd. iv. 59 ;
who like Mendelssohn himself, would have
Music and Musicians, i. 26), Schumann gave a nothing to do with the press. Leipzig was for a
real impetus to the textual criticism of music ;
time the headquarters of the two parties. There,
historical clues and comparisons are frequently where Mendelssohn had worked for the delight
suggested, and though these indications are not
founded on any comprehensive historical knowledge,
and improvement of the musical world, it was the
fate of his art to be first exposed to attack and
on all important subjects they show a detraction, which, to the discredit of the German
happy instinct for the right conclusion, and are
always worthy of attention.
It may be said of Schumann's literary work
in general that it was not calculated to attract
nation, rapidly spread through wider and wider
circles, and was fated too to proceed first from
the blind admirers of the very master for whom
Mendelssohn ever felt the deepest attachment
attention merely for the moment, though it did and respect. That Schumann himself must
in fact open up new paths, but that it took the have been painfully affected by this spirit is as
form of writings which have a high and permanent
clear as that it could only result in hindering
value. They will always hold a foremost the unprejudiced reception of his works ; and
place in the literature of music, and may indeed the process thus begun with Schumann has been
take high rank in the literature of art. For carried on, in a greater degree, in the case of
analytical acumen they are less remarkable. Wagner.
Schumann cannot be called the Lessing of music, As a composer Schumann started with the
nor is it by the display of learning that he pianoforte, and until the year 1840 wrote
produces his effects. It is the union of poetic scarcely anything but pianoforte music. For
talent with musical genius, wide intelligence, some time he used to compose sitting at the
and high culture, that stamps Schumann's instrument, and continued to do so even until
writings with originality, and gives them their 1839, though he afterwards condemned the
independent value.
practice (in his Musikalische Haus- und Lebensregeln).
Schumann's literary work was connected with
At all events it had the advantage
another phase of the musical world of Germany, of making him write from the first in true
as new in its way as the twofold development of pianoforte style. If ever pianoforte works took
his genius—the rise of party feeling. No doubt their origin from the innermost nature of the
Schumann gave the first impetus to this movement,
pianoforte, Schumann's did so most thoroughly.
both by his imaginary Davidsbiindler-
' His mode of treating the instrument is entirely
sohaft, ' and by that Radical instinct which was new. He develops upon it a kind of orchestral
part of his nature. Schumann's principles as an polyphony, and by means of the pedal, of extended
artist were the same which have been professed
intervals, of peculiar positions of chords,
and followed by all the greatest German masters ;
of contractions of the hands, and so forth, he
what was new in him was the active attempt to succeeds in bringing out of it an undreamt-of
propagate them as principles. So long as he wealth of effects of tone. How deeply and
conducted the Zeitsckrift he could not of course thoroughly Schumann had studied the character
lend himself to party feeling ; the standard he of the instrument may be seen from the detailed
preface to his arrangement of Paganini's caprices
(op. 3). Even in his earliest PF. works he
nowhere shows any Inclination to the method
of any of the older masters, except in the
variations, op. 1, which betray the influence
2 B