Shattering longstanding myths, this new biography reveals the robust and positive life of one of the nineteenth century's greatest composers This candid, intimate, and compellingly written new biography offers a fresh account of Robert Schumann's life. It confronts the traditional perception of the doom-laden Romantic, forced by depression into a life of helpless, poignant sadness. John Worthen's scrupulous attention to the original sources reveals Schumann to have been an astute, witty, articulate, and immensely ...
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Shattering longstanding myths, this new biography reveals the robust and positive life of one of the nineteenth century's greatest composers This candid, intimate, and compellingly written new biography offers a fresh account of Robert Schumann's life. It confronts the traditional perception of the doom-laden Romantic, forced by depression into a life of helpless, poignant sadness. John Worthen's scrupulous attention to the original sources reveals Schumann to have been an astute, witty, articulate, and immensely determined individual, who--with little support from his family and friends in provincial Saxony--painstakingly taught himself his craft as a musician, overcame problem after problem in his professional life, and married the woman he loved after a tremendous battle with her father. Schumann was neither manic depressive nor schizophrenic, although he struggled with mental illness. He worked prodigiously hard to develop his range of musical styles and to earn his living, only to be struck down, at the age of forty-four, by a vile and incurable disease. Worthen's biography effectively de-mystifies a figure frequently regarded as a Romantic enigma. It frees Schumann from 150 years of mythmaking and unjustified psychological speculation. It reveals him, for the first time, as a brilliant, passionate, resolute musician and a thoroughly creative human being, the composer of arguably the best music of his generation.
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Add this copy of Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician to cart. $46.48, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Yale University Press.
Add this copy of Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician to cart. $46.78, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Yale University Press.
Add this copy of Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician to cart. $85.96, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Yale University Press.
Add this copy of Robert Schumann: Life and Death of a Musician to cart. $117.98, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Yale University Press.
The Piano Concerto of Robert Schumann (1810-1856) is one of his best-known pieces, appreciated immensely even by many people who don't usually listen to classical music. But what about the man behind the famous concerto!
This biography dwells on the life of the renowned Romantic composer in considerable detail. His compositions were often profound, but his was a tortured soul. In 1854, he attempted suicide by jumping into the Rhine but was rescued and ended up in a mental asylum. He was only 46 when he died two years later. Schumann admirers should find this well-written work about his life a compelling read. Worthen, the author of this book, would have us believe that his problems were the result of heavy drinking and syphilis rather than what is generally accepted as the cause - manic-depressive melancholia. After reading this book, his fans may admire him even more for his virtuoso accomplishments in the face of adversity.
