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Schumann's Piano Practice:
Technical Mastery and
Artistic Ideal
CLAUDIA MACDONALD
At first pass this does not seem an unusual statement. Schumann's earli-
est training was as a skilled amateur, a lover of music. Unlike the great
2
On Schumann's love for Schubert, see Leon B. Plantinga, Schumannas Critic(New
Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1967), 219-26. On the importance of Vienna's musical
salons to Schubert, see Otto Biba, "Schubert's Position in Viennese Musical Life," Igth-
CenturyMusic 3 (1979-80): 108-9.
3 Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ausfiihrlichetheoretischpractische Anweisung zum Piano-
Forte-Spielvom ersten Elementar-Unterrichtean bis zur Ausbildung, 2nd ed.
volkommensten
(Vienna: Haslinger, 1838; repr. Straubenhardt: Zimmermann, 1989), 468 pp. Schumann,
of course, used the first edition, which was published in 1828.
On the rise of technical method books in the early 19th century, see Leslie David
Blasius, "The Mechanics of Sensation and the Construction of the Romantic Musical Ex-
perience," in Music Theoryin theAge of Romanticism,ed. Ian Bent (Cambridge: Cambridge
Univ. Press, 1996), io-18.
MACDONALD
the highest artistic plane of musical expression. His efforts proved frus-
trating, and, as his repeated blocks against practicing-whether an avoid-
ance of working out mechanical problems, or a compulsion to linger on
them overlong-suggest, the obstacle was to prove insurmountable; his
goal, though twice previously achieved, was ultimately to elude him. He
discovered that it was simply not possible for him to sustain his artistic
ends by passing, Tamino-like, through the trials of perfecting his tech-
nique. He realized that for him music's noumenal world existed apart
from its phenomenal or mechanical aspect; there could be no passage
through its ordinary side to a more rarefied place. The only possibility
for uniting the mundane and the extraordinary in music lay instead in
the conversion of the mechanical to the artistic.
The process by which Schumann came to this realization is detailed
in his diary entries of mid May through August 1831. These show the
workings of the young artist's mind (or at least, as near a look as we can
hope to have of it), as he grappled with a dilemma basic to his time,
namely, how to embrace the newest athletic developments in music
while still claiming music as an expressive language reaching into inner
depths that are supposedly immune to its power to dazzle. In July 1831,
530 after reaching the lowest point of his square-off with the piano, Schu-
mann finally worked through the impasse to his practice. He concen-
trated on Chopin's Variations, op. 2, diligently perfecting his technical
presentation and obsessively taking stock of his progress toward a fin-
ished, ideal performance. His efforts are recorded in an Uebungstage-
buch, a series of exercises based on passages from the Variations. As we
shall see, these have little to do with any mechanical problems in the set
(for example, the fourth, staccato, Con bravuravariation), but instead
give a glimpse into how Schumann hoped to realize physically his imag-
ined, ideal sound world.
the small circle that gathered regularly to hear him play chamber music
with a group of fellow students.5 Under Wieck's tutelage Schumann
also received his first heavy dose of technical studies. He began practic-
ing from Cramer's Etudes in December 1828, then Hummel's Clavier-
schule in February 1829.6
Schumann's local fame as a gentleman amateur of some accomplish-
ment continued during a year and four months in Heidelberg (late May
1829 through late September 1830)-he was welcomed into the homes
of music loving amateurs, accompanied Lieder, played piano solo (often
improvisatory), four-hands, and chamber music.7 He set himself apart as
the best player in the city, no doubt because of his natural talent and
obvious accomplishment, but by his own estimation, also because of his
cultivation of technique. In a letter to Wieck of 6 November 1829, he
berated the local players as unmusical, based solely on their indiffer-
ence to technical method.
that the 16-year-old professional likely had a strong and decisive influ-
ence on him.l3 And no wonder, since, despite the advanced level of
Schumann's playing, Paganini and his prodigy were the first world-class
performers he heard on any instrument; hearing Paganini perform was
his first indication, beyond the method books that had heretofore been
his guide, of the irresistible power of supreme technique combined
with consummate artistry.
Schumann first proposed forsaking his law studies in a letter to his
mother of 30 July, which she forwarded to Wieck. Wieck's response to
the proposal was positive: He agreed to take Schumann as a student
and promised to make him a greater pianist than Hummel or Moscheles
within three years. It was also conditional: Wieck was well aware of
Schumann's propensities and demanded that he follow a carefully out-
lined five-point program. Above all was a requirement that Schumann
apply himself relentlessly to the mechanics of playing.
Robert very wrongly supposes "that the whole of piano playing consists
of pure mechanics;" what a one-sided judgment! . . . But it is true, for
Robert the greatest difficulty lies in the quiet, cold, thoughtful and
persistent conquering of mechanics as the first element of all piano 533
playing. I confess frankly that when, after difficult struggles and huge
disagreements on his part, I was successful ... in convincing him of
the importance of a pure, precise, equal, clear and rhythmicallymarked
and elegant touch, by the next lesson it had often borne little fruit-
and I began ... again to take up the old theme and again to explain
the difference with respect to music studied with me, etc. etc., and
forcibly to persevere in my point.'4
5 ". . . daB ich bei FleiB und Geduld und unter gutem Lehrer binnen sechsJahren
mit jedem Klavierspielerwetteifernwill, da das ganze Klavierspielreine Mechanikund
Fertigkeitist;hier und da hab'ichauch Phantasie..." Schumann,Jugendbriefe, 118.
6 ".. .. das die hohere Gewaltuiber die Mechanikauch die hohere fiber den Stoff
mit sich bringt und daB ich dann den Stoff beherrsche,wenden und drehen kann, wie
und wohin ich will." Briefe und Notizen Robertund Clara Schumanns, 2nd, rev. ed., ed.
SiegfriedKross(Bonn:Bouvier,1982), 28 (letterto Dr.Carusfrom Robert).
'7 "Anfange des seichten Virtuosenthums (Herz, Czerny). Dagegen auch Paganinis
Erscheinung. (Spaiterin Frankfurt a/m gehort). Mein Verwerfen dieser Schule u. ofterer
Streit mit F. Wieck" (Schumann, "Materialien [-1829]," Archiv des Robert-Schumann-
Hauses Zwickau, 4871 VII B,3 A3, p. 3). The archive also has an annotated typescript of
the "Materialien"prepared by Georg Eismann. Bischoff dates the document to ca. 1846
(Monumentfur Beethoven,36, n26). In the chronological sequence of the "Materialien"the
cited entry falls into summer or possibly autumn 1828.
18 Schumann, Briefe. Neue Folge, 2nd ed., ed. F. GustavJansen (Leipzig: Breitkopf &
Hartel, 1904), 25 (letter to Wieck of 21 August 1830).
'9 ". .. habe mich die letzten zw6lf Wochen hindurch jeden TagregelmaBig drey-vier
Stunden gut und mit Nutzen geibt." Briefeund NotizenRobertund ClaraSchumanns,28.
MACDONALD
20 On
3 June 1830 Schumann wrote his brother Carl that he was playing the piano
daily from eight to ten o'clock every morning, and by 25 September he reported to Dr.
Ernst August Carus that he had practiced three to four hours every day for the last twelve
weeks. See Schumann, Jugendbriefe,111 (letter to Carl), also 114 (1 July 1830 letter to his
mother); Briefe und Notizen Robertund Clara Schumanns, 28 (letter to Dr. Carus from
Robert).
21
"1830 ging ich nach Leipzig zurfick. FleiBige, fortgesetzte Studien; ich spielte
taglich fiber 6-7 Stunden." Georg Eismann, Quellenwerk,1: 77 (Schumann, "Selbstaufze-
ichnung 'Musikalischer Lebenslauf' "). On the date of the Lebenslauf, see n 2.
22 Friedrich Wieck, Piano and
Song (Didacticand Polemical):The CollectedWritingsof
Clara Schumann'sFatherand Only Teacher,trans. and ed. Henry Pleasants (Stuyvesant, New
York: Pendragon, 1988), 23 ("Conversation and Dinner with Herr and Frau Zach"). See
also p. 40 ("SECRETS:A Paper on the Study of the Piano Presented to a Circle of Piano
Playing Ladies"). Pleasants translates the first edition of Wieck's book, Clavierund Gesang.
Dadaktischesund Polemisches,from 1853. In the third edition (Leipzig: F. E. C. Leuckart,
1878), this passage reads: "Verbinden Sie nicht mit dem Studium der Etuden auch das
Studium von Tonstuicken, damit die Ausbildung des Gefiihls ffir Vortrag und feine
Darstellung immer Hand in Hand gehe mit dem Studium der Mecanik?"
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
op. 70, nos. 3 and 19; his own Exercice[s] (modeled after the exercises of
Hummel); and scales.23
Practice was not always smooth going for Schumann. His moods
from May through August were variable, ranging from deep depression
and withdrawal into drinking or lethargy to joy in his own accomplish-
ments, and his work at the piano was a barometer of these swings.24
When he began his diary anew on 11 May it was with the determination
to diligently write something every day. He also reports satisfaction with
his playing:
It seems as if in the first [week] the mere life, fresh spiritand charm
elevate the mechanics above themselves; later, when [the spirit] fades
and [the charm] weakens,only the dry,cold keys remain for a long
time. But shouldn'tthe time come when the piece plays [the spirit?].
It ought to be so complete. To be sure, I have an ideal, and it is also
attainable.If I continue like this I won'ttremble.27
537
In Schumann's view the performer works through a natural process __
whereby after a first stage infatuation with a work fades, in a second stage
concentration on its mechanics takes priority. Only then, in a final, third
stage, are the two approaches united in an ideal, artistic presentation.
On days when his practice went well, Schumann conceded that in
the long-standing argument between them perhaps his teacher knew
best concerning at which stage he should center his efforts. On 13 May
he wrote, "Yesterdaypiano playing really satisfying and real improve-
ments. Could Wieck be right about studying? The old business."28 But
when things did not go well, Schumann returned to mocking his
teacher's emphasis on technique and display. On 27 May he writes:
26
"Claiver schlecht-Var.[iationen] v. Herz. Op. 48 mir zum Einstudieren - die
Moschelessche Etude angstlich u. unsicher - Woher kommt das? vierzehn Tage daran
gespielt, aufmerksam u. beharrlich [.]" Schumann, Tagebiicher,: 333.
27 "- es scheint, als ob in der ersten das bloBe Leben u. der frische Geist u. Reiz die
Mechanik uber sich selbst hinaushobe; spater wo dieser verlischt u. jener schwacher wird,
bleibt dann Zeit lange die trokne, kalte Taste; Aber sollte dann nicht die Zeit kommen,
wo dann das Stiik ihn spielt, so ganz muilte es seyn. Ich habe wohl ein Ideal u. es ist auch
1: 333.
zu erreichen. Fahr' ich so fort, so zittre ich nicht." Schumann, Tagebiicher,
28
"Clavierspiel gestern recht zufrieden u. Fortschritte. Sollte Wieck mit dem
Studiren recht haben? Die alten Sachen." Schumann, Tagebiicher, i: 332.
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
Though just what Wieck had in mind when he said Schumann "tossed
out the Herz Variations like a dog" is unclear, I take it to mean that
Schumann gave his teacher the brilliant performance he desired, but at
the sacrifice of artistic quality. This was no triumph for Schumann-his
unhappiness continued through the next days. "Piano nothing, entirely
bad - also no strength to study further," he reports on 29 May, and on
4 June, "No mood to play." Even the purchase of a Melzer piano on
15 June does not improve his disposition. His only comment, "Piano
bad."3o
The crisis came to a head just four days later, on 19 June. Schu-
mann was "reveling in Chopin," that is, Chopin's Variations, op. 2,
which had come into his hands soon after his return to Leipzig in fall
1830.31 At his lesson Wieck reprimanded him for not applying himself
to his practice to the point of producing a finished performance of
something. He issued an ultimatum: "Dear Robert, I beg you - get
538 something finished finally. Before your eyes I'll tear it to pieces."32 Of
course, in order to produce a finished performance, dedication to the
mundane task of overcoming any mechanical difficulties that stand in
the way is necessary. In Schumann's three-stage study scheme this trans-
lates to considerable time at the second stage. Instead, he preferred to
29 "Des Morgens ging Alles miserabel - ganz miserablinsky - Nachmittag bey Wieck -
sehr theilnehmend gegen mich-ich wirfe die Herzischen Variationen wie einen Hund
hin - charakterisirt richtig - ich kann ohnmoglich heucheln oder die Leute merken die
Verstellung im Augenblicke -" Schumann, Tagebiicher, i: 334.
30 "Clavier nichts,
g[an]z schlecht - auch keine Kraft zum Fortstudiren - "";"Keine
Lust zum Spielen."; "KlavierSchlecht- " Schumann, Tagebiicher, i: 335, 336, 342. Wieck's
sympathetic attitude toward the malaise Schumann was experiencing was later a subject
for a revised edition of his Piano and Song. Asked how many hours per day his daughters
practice he replies, "Einen Tag gar nicht, - den zweiten Tag wenig, - den dritten Tag mehr,
- den vierten viel und manchmal sehr viel, - den fiinften blos vom Blatt, - den sechsten
eine Stunde in Gesellschaft .... Alles richtet sich nach der Zeit, Neigung, Stimmung,
Wohlbefinden und selbst - nach mehr oder weniger Lust derselben, wenn es nicht
Eigensinn oder Faulheit ist. Es giebt Tage, wo die Natur des Menschen sich gegen das
Spiel straubt und fur Musik weniger emfanglich ist, da lasse man aussetzen" (Klavierund
Gesang. Didaktisches und Polemisches,3rd rev. ed. with aphorisms from Wieck's diary
[Leipzig: F. E. C. Leuckart, 1878], 189 ["Anhang: Aphorismen aus Friedrich Wieck's
Tagebuch"]).
31 Jansen, Die Davidsbiindler.Aus RobertSchumann'sSturm-und Drangperiode(Leipzig:
Breitkopf & Hartel, 1883), 7, 71. Jansen's source is a report from Schumann's friend
Theodor T6pken. Further on Schumann's practice of the Chopin, op. 2, see Joachim
Draheim, "Schumann und Chopin," in Schumann-Studien3/4, ed. Gerd Nauhaus
(Cologne: Gisela Schewe, 1994), 225-31.
32
"Schwelgen im Chopin. - Lieber Robert, ich bitte dich - bring endlich etwas raus
und fertig. Vor ihren Augen zerreiB ich's, sagte Wieck." Schumann, Tagebiicher, 1: 344.
MACDONALD
Lumpen damit todt zu machen, mochte ich sie nicht alle in eine Kanone laden u. irgend
Etwas damit todtschieBen!" Schumann, Tagebiicher, i: 331 (23 May 1831).
42 Schumann,
Tagebiicher,1: 336, 346, 349-50 ("Ich m6chte kaum mehr wissen, als
ich weil. Das Dunkel der Fantasie oder Ihr UnbewuBtes bleibt ihre Poesie."), 355
(... man wuBte vieles, was man aber doch noch sechsmal lernen miiBte, nametl. [ich] in
der musikalischen Theorie."), 358 (4June; 5, 13, 25, 30July 1831).
43 "Schumann war wahrend seiner Lehrzeit ein unverdrossner Arbeiter, und wenn
ich ihm Ein Beispiel aufgab, lieferte er dann immer mehrere." Eismann, Quellenwerk,i:
74 (letter toJ. W. Wasielewki of 7 September 1856).
MACDONALD
44 ". .. der Theorie ist Alles verhillt, der Fantasie nichts .. ." Schumann, Tagebiicher,
i: 364 (20 August1831).
4. On Schumann'sperformancesas an amateurin Zwickauand Leipzig,see my
"Schumann'sEarliestCompositionsand Performances,"
260-64.
4t; See tables 6 and 7 in Bischoff, Monumentfur Beethoven,115-18. Schumann's part-
ner for Schubert'sfour-handpolonaisesand marcheswasWillibaldvon der Luhe,for the
Schubert'sDivertissmenta I'hongroiseand a four-handarrangementof Moscheles Sym-
phony in C Major,op. 81 (the latter not listed in Bischoff'stables), ClaraWieck (7age-
biicher,i: 333, 334, 335; 363-64 [25, 27, 31 May;20 August 1831]). On 29 May 1831
Schumannreports,"Mit[Christian]Glock etliche zwanzigHefte Schubert'scherLieder
abgeschrien!"(Tagebiicheri: 335). Improvisation,either alone or for friends,is recorded
on 13 and 31 May,and 1July 1831 (Tagebiicher,1: 331, 335, 344).
47 Schumann, Tagebicher,i: 332 (23 May 1831 Kummer), 337 (6 June-Dorn,
Hofmeister,Kummer,Muller,Veltheim,Weinlich),344 (1 July-Berger), 359 (8 August
-Kragen, about whom see also the "Personenregister,"
p. 507), 360-32 (14 August-
Probst).
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
discussions of literature with his friends von der Luhe (a writer), Jean
Baptist Taillefer (a French teacher), and Christian Glock (a medical
but also onetime theology and philosophy student).54 With Wieck
Schumann reports talk of Chopin, Viennese piano teachers and instru-
ments, that is, primarily the business as opposed to the art of music.55
As an aspiring professional Schumann continually found himself in
the shadow of Wieck's daughter and star pupil, Clara. The child was
held up to Christiane Schumann as a model student in Wieck's reply to
her inquiry about a change of career for her son.56 For Schumann him-
self, comparison with the girl only showed that her accomplishments
outstripped his own. Thus, even as Wieck was preparing for Clara's first
extended European tour he predicted -that a similar undertaking on
Schumann's part was yet two years distant, though Schumann himself
hoped to achieve this in half the time.57 Further, Wieck exaggerated
the distance between Schumann and Clara by swearing his daughter
was ten and one-half years old when in fact she was nearly twelve.58Of-
ten Wieck assigned the two pupils the same or similar repertory, and no
doubt this too served to aggravate competition between them. On
23 May Schumann played his F Major Concerto for Wieck; the same
day Clara began work on Moscheles's Concerto in Eb Major. Then on 543
25 May Schumann was given the Herz Variations, op. 48 that Clara had
already performed in Dresden on 25 January. Similarly, by 1 July, when
Schumann began serious practice on the Chopin Variations, they had
already been performed by Clara on 6 June.59 She learned them in
eight days, in contrast to Schumann, whose progress on the set turned
out to be slow and fitful.6o
At least in her technical proficiency, Schumann admitted that Clara
outpaced him. After the mockery of his own performance of the Herz
544
4__ After a horrifying scene in which Wieck lost his temper and physi-
cally abused his son Alwin for not properly playing his violin, Schumann
again concluded that Wieck's only interest in music was monetary.
6 "....
bey Claren [Wieck] kommt es von innen heraus ..." Schumann, Tagebiicher,
1:334 (27 May 1831).
62 "Wiek und Clara sind sehr romantische
Figuren. Etwas Paganinisches mufite mit
einflieBen." Schumann, Tagebiicher, i: 339 (8June 1831).
63
"Paganini muB wunderbar mit auf Cilia [Clara] einwirken . . . Ideal der Fertigkeit
- Ideal des Ausdruk's - Verbindung beyder in Paganini - das Streben Clara's -" Schumann,
Tagebiicher, 1: 342-43 (14June 1831).
64 "Zilia spielte gestern das Es dur Conz.[ert] von Moscheles, aber einzig schon.
Manchmal konnte es wohl inniger seyn. Ob Meister Raro wirklich Liebe zur Kunst qua
[?] solche hat, glaub ich nicht; auch in seiner Begeisterung uber Zilia stickt etwas Ju-
disches, das im Geiste schon die Thaler zahlt, die die Conzerte einmal bringen, woran ich
nicht zweifle, daB es reichlich geschieht." Schumann, Tagebiicher,1: 362 (17 August 1831).
65 "Meister Raro! ich erkenne dich - dein Treiben ist weiter nichts als ein jiidisches
Benehmen, deine Begeisterung nichts, wenn sie kein Viergroschenstiick in der Tasche
herumdrehen kann, dein feuriges Auge ist nicht ruhig u. schielt nach der Geldkasse, sel-
ber deine Liebe zu Zilia ist nicht rein - Du warst der erbarmlichste der Schurken, hatte
Zilia kein Talent." Schumann, Tagebiicher, 1: 364 (21 August 1831).
MACDONALD
This hither and thither improvising that he wants to tease out of Zilia
is fine for the practical future, but it ruins the flow of the imagination;
the welling up and the wing beat of genius do not murmur here.
Youth can spew forth without being embarrassed before old age.67
Chopin
After a period from 21-30 June of what he called bad days, Schu-
mann set himself to long hours of practice on the Chopin, reporting
steady progress with only minor setbacks at least up to midJuly.69 Even
so, on 18 July he found himself at an impasse, the same point he had
reached in his practice of the Moscheles Etude no. 3 when, after a week,
he said, "[the spirit] fades and [the charm] weakens, only the dry, cold
keys remain for a long time." Just as he did then, he puts this down to
the natural course of achieving mastery over a piece, namely that in-
spired playing of the initial stage of study must for a time give way to
uninspired practice of the second.
For the second time I have got through my Chopin tolerably. If I don't
learn it now, I'll never learn it. I think there are three periods for
artists who are already of a certain rank: in the first period of study the
spirit and the recent fascination of the object keep one fresh and vig-
orous and lift the fingers beyond themselves; in the second the imagi-
nation's flowering gradually falls off, the notes are written there, they
must be reckoned with, the keys are depressed, sounds fail to come
out. Many things don't work; that is the period of doubt, which now
twice in my life I have overcome, with the A Minor Concerto [by Hum-
mel] and with the AlexanderVariations[by Moscheles].
What should I say about the third, where spirit and form, mechanics
and imagination flow into each other, that a person is corporeal music?
Let me see your paradise!70
The Hummel Concerto and Moscheles Variations are the two pieces
Schumann performed publicly for large audiences after he first began
study with Wieck in late summer 1828. The performance of the first
huschelig [?] genug spielen. Mein Lehrer wollte mich dadurch fiber ein gewisses
angstliches, fast [?] mechanisches und herausstudiertes Spiel heben; ich sah auch, das
seine Methode bei seiner Tochter die in der Tat AuBergewohnliches verspricht, besser an-
schlagen muBte als bei mir, da ich mir eine so freie Behandlung noch nicht zutrauen
durfte." Schumanns Briefe in Auswahl, ed. Karl Storck (Stuttgart: Greiner und Pfeiffer,
n.d.), 53.
6(9 Schumann, Tagebiicher i: 344, 346, 348-49 (21-30June; 1, 5, 9, 13, 17July 1831).
7" "Mit meinem Chopin bin ich zum zweitenmal ziemlich durch. Lern' ich ihnjetzt,
lern' ich ihn nie. Mir daucht' es giebt drey Perioden bey Kiinstlern, die schon auf einer
Stufe stehen: in der ersten des Studium's halt einen der Geist u. der neue Reiz des Ob-
jects frisch u. mun[ter] u. hebt die Finger fiber sich selber, in der zweiten fallen nach u.
nach die Fantasieblumen weg, es stehen Noten da, es muB gegriffen werden, die Tasten
fallen, es bleiben Tone aus, Vieles paBt nicht; das ist die Periode zum Verzweifeln, die ich
nun zweimal in meinem Leben uberwunder habe, beym A moll Conzert u. bey den
Alexandervariationen.
"Wassoil ich aber von der dritten sagen, wo Geist u. Form, Mechanik u Fantasie in-
einander flielen, das man leibhafte Musick ist? LaB mich deine Paradiese sehen!" Schu-
mann, Tagebiiche,1: 353-54.
MACDONALD
71 See Schumann, Tagebiicher, i: 189, 191, 192 (14, 15, 23, 28 April 1829) on his re-
hearsals and performance in Zwickau. Later he wrote Hummel, "Die Fortschritte die ich
machte, gaben mir Muth, das Studium ward strenger, so daB ich nach einemJahre [from
the time he began lessons with Wieck in late summer 1828] das A moll-concert (es gibt
nur eines) ruhig, sicher, technisch-fehlerlos vortragen konnte." Briefe.Neue Folge,31 (let-
ter of 20 August 1831).
72 On Schumann's preparation for and performance in this concert, see his Tage-
biicher,1: 209, 210, 213, 221-22 (27, 30 November, 1, 29-30 December 1829; 4, 24Janu-
ary 1830). The entry for the day of the concert reads, "Glorreicher Tag . . . meine
Variat[ionen]. - mein Stolpern am Anfang - die letzte Variat[ion]. vollendet gespielt -
unendlicher Applaus, Gratulation pp [praeterpassim]." Topken writes of Schumann, "Er
hatte diese Komposition [der Alexander-Marsch von Moscheles] langst und mit der
groBten Sorgfalt einstudiert und mir haufig vorgespielt. Die sichere und vollendete Aus-
fiuhrung konnte daher nicht zweifelhaft sein . . . Schumann spielte mit voller Be-
herrschung seiner Aufgabe und erntete einen Beifallssturm, wie ihn nur ein Kunstler sich
wunschen mag" (Eismann, Quellenwerk, 1: 55 ["Studienfreund Topken an Wasielewski"]).
See also Schumann, Jugendbriefe,104 (letter to his brother, Julius, of 11 February 1830).
The Museumwas a society for social intercourse and cultural activities whose members,
primarily students, put on regular concerts of instrumental music, including symphonies
by Beethoven and Haydn, but also instrumental solos, of works mostly forgotten by now.
See Schumann, Tagebicher,1: 221-22, 231-32 (24January, 3 March 1830).
73 "....so daB ich nach einemJahre das A moll-Concert ... ruhig, sicher, technisch-
fehlerlos vortragen konnte . . ." Schumann, Briefe.Neue Folge, 31 (letter to Hummel of
20 August 1831); "Ich hatte ... wirklich gut gespielt . ." Jugendbriefe,104 (letter to his
brotherJulius of 11 February 1830).
74 "Dir aber, Meister Raro, derjetzt so theilnehmend gegen [mich] ist, will ich zum
Lohn weiter nichts darbringen, als den Chopin in seiner hochsten Vollendung!" Schu-
mann, Tagebiicher,: 344, 349 (19June; 9July 1831).
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
From 7-10 exclusive study of Chopin with the greatest possible stillness
of the hand; I pursue my plan from page to page, but then choose
from among them places for practice. At 11 o'clock I usually begin
with Czerny's trill studies, which cannot be played relaxed, quietly and
lightly enough. Then come the Hummel finger exercises in the 4
classes according to the compass of their intervals, to each of which
I add every day five new ones. The afternoon I give over entirely to the
inclination of my mood, but all the same, I always continue with the F#
Minor Sonata by Hummel.75
548 At the same time remember especially the rule, to hold the hands very
quietly, to move the fingers lightly (without lifting them high from the
keys), and not let them stay on the keys longer than is necessary.78
75 "Von 7-10
alleiniges Studium im Chopin mit m6glichster Ruhe d. Hand; meinen
Plan verfolg' ich von Seite zu Seite, nehm' aber dan[n] Stellen zur Uebung mitten her-
aus. Um 11 Uhr fing ich gewohnlich mit Czerny's Trillerubung [an], die nicht loker, leise
u. leicht genug gespielt werden kann. Dann kamen die Hummelschen Fingerubungen in
den 4 Classen ihren Intervallenumfang nach, denen ich jeder an jeden Tage ffinf neue
hinzugab. Den Nachmittag hab' ich ganz zur Disposition meiner Laune bestimmt, fahre
aber doch sicher u. regelmaBsig in der Fis moll Sonate von Hummel fort." Schumann,
Tagebiicher, : 348-49. Each Hummel exercise places the hand in one position within
which the fingers play various combinations. The four interval classes are the fifth (171
exercises); sixth (145 exercises); seventh (60 exercises); and octave (241 exercises). A
number of Hummel's exercises and their transpositions are copied into "Skizzenbuch I,"
pp. 51-52/77 (a single bifolio), 63-64. See Wendt, "Zu Robert Schumanns Skizzenbuch-
ern," 102-6.
76 In
1853 Wieck wrote, "The fingers must learn to rest on the keys and play into
the keys with a certain firmness, decisiveness, speed and strength" (Piano and Song, 102
["Aphorisms about Piano Playing"]).
77 "LaBdich's nicht
entmuthigen, lieber Robert, wenn es nicht einmal so perlen u.
schnellen sollte, wie wahrend der letzten acht Tage; ube dich in Geduld, hebe die Finger
leise, halte die Hand ruhig u. spiele langsam: und alles muB wieder in's Gleis kommen."
Schumann, Tagebiicher1: 349.
7s "Besonders erinnere man sich dabei der Regel, die Hande ganz ruhig zu halten,
die Finger leicht (ohne sie hoch von den Tasten zu erheben) fortzubewegen, und sie
nicht langer auf denselben liegen zu lassen . ." Hummel, Anweisungzum Pianofortespiel,
27.
MACDONALD
Now, to give a few observations about you. ... If you could only be-
come master of your manner of playing, of your attack; don't you have
a different one every day? yesterday you had the one that I also like:
I'll describe it, your hand lies down unforced on the keys, the front
section somewhat curved, your fingers meet the key like a little ham-
mer that moves on its own power, your arm and hand remain quiet,
your finger hardly lifts itself for the attack and presses the key com-
pletely down.79
EXAMPLE 1. Moscheles, Studien fur das Pianoforte, op. 70, no. 3, and
Schumann, Uebungstagebuch
(Sketchbook I, p. 91)*
a. Moscheles, m. 37
1 2 3 4 2 3 1 4
Schuma, n. 2 2
Schumann, no. 2
f9:
550
b. Moscheles, mm. 64-65
8gva_______ _
44
( - - - 2- _2- _-- - --- - - --- 2-
3 2 1 2 3 2 2 2 1 w1
3; X32 2 11 2 43]
fteAi^s^'^^^^ 9 2
r f 212 4
Schumann, no. 7
*All examples from Schumann's Sketchbook are used by permission of the Universitats-
und Landesbibliothek Bonn.
MACDONALD
EXAMPLE 1. (continued)
c. Moscheles, m. 87
(cresc.) --------------------------------
5 4 3
Schumann, no. 3
551
Two excerpts from the first variation of the Chopin, measures 1-4
and 9-12, together with Schumann's versions of measure 4, beats 2 and
3 and measure 11, are given in Examples 2a and 2b.83
In Chopin's variation the original theme, with some alteration, is
heard above right-hand triplets and left-hand accompaniment. Schu-
mann may have been interested in keeping this melody in clear relief at
places where it gives way to cadential tags, as in Example 2a, where his
added 32nd-note upbeat gives a further flourish to the sf fourth-beat
cadence. In Example 2b, his repetition in measure 11 of beats i and 2
on beats 3 and 4, while perhaps only a practice strategy, has a clear dra-
matic effect-it heightens the peak of Chopin's crescendoat a point
where the harmony has become static over the dominant, and creates a
more striking diminuendo,beginning on the first beat of measure 12
where the tonic is sounded.84
Examples 3a and 3b are from the Alla Polacca.In these, Schumann
emphasizes the duality of the right-hand line, or even adds to it a second
part.
83 The Chopin examples are copied from the Vienna edition of his opus 2 pub-
lished by Tobias Haslinger in 1830.
84 For Chopin's first variation, Schumann also wrote practice versions of right-hand
parts from m. 8a, m. 10, m. 14, and m. 15 (Uebungstagebuch, Sketchbook I, p. 91, no. 16,
no. 15, no. 18, and no. 19). Again, these identifications and those given in n86 below dif-
fer somewhat from those given by Bischoff (see n8 , and cf. n82).
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
Var.l.
552
Schumann, no. 14
5 3 5 4 2 4
In Example 3a, measure 32, though the triplet 16ths of each half
beat in the right hand are of equal value, the player is apt to hold the
first of each group slightly over while striking the second, an octave
higher, thus giving a clear continuity to the inner line and conforming
to Chopin's molto legatodirection. In fact, Schumann's fingering is de-
signed to achieve this legato holdover in the inner voice.85 Functionally,
measure 32 is one of four measures that repeat the cadence on the
dominant before a return to the opening melody of the theme. Schu-
mann may have singled it out for practice precisely because of his inter-
EXAMPLE 2. (continued)
b. Chopin, mm. 9-12
8va . . 9.......
crc.--------------------------------
r WA r
(Sb b i i & l
5 4 5 4 5 4 5
est in giving this filler material a clearer melodic profile. Seemingly, for
that same reason he also rewrote Chopin's measures 51-52 (Ex. 3b),
dividing the right-hand part into two lines. While his added top notes
may have been for practice purposes only, they lend greater melodic
definition to the ongoing triplet motion just at the point where
Chopin's expanded, alla polaccaversion of the theme gives way to fanci-
ful and modulatory passagework.86
Schumann knew that the conception of Chopin's Variations he was
slowly working out differed from the showy performance Wieck's
coaching had elicited from Clara. "With Chopin it always goes well, as
Schumann, no. 36
5
4 2 ~15
2 3 1
5\
1
2
1 :3
554
b. Chopin, mm. 51-53
I
ben attaccato
if^jTijfljjn^^~~~~~~~~~~~~
Schumann, no. 21
= 2j43 52
^
. l* T_ sB - l
'ES_SiP
MACDONALD
Ideal Sound
Charles Rosen has written eloquently on the imagined, as opposed
to actual sounding, musical line, its importance for the romantic gener-
ation, and its link not just to pitch and rhythm but to sonority and dy-
namics.89 Clearly, as Schumann struggled with problems of technique
while preparing the Chopin, foremost in his mind was the realization of
an ideal, imagined performance. Even his technical problems center
87 "Mit
Chopin ist's immer gut gegangen, wie mit Allen. Aber das Ideal, das ich zu
seiner Darstellung in mir trage, kann ich nicht so bald erreichen. Zilia spielt sie kindisch
u. zu brillant. ... So subjectiv, meint' ich, dies alles sey u. so wenig Absicht gewiB der
Chopin gehabt hatte, so beug' ich doch mein Haupt seinem Genius, seinem festen
Streben, seinen FleiB und seiner Fantasie!" Schumann, Tagebiicher,1: 332, 350-51. The
sketch, including the concession as to its subjectivity, was later used as a basis for Schu-
mann's famous first review, "Ein Opus II," that appeared in the Allgemeinemusikalische
Zeitung33, no. 49 (7 December 1831): cols. 805-8.
88
Chopin received from Eduard Fechner, the brother of Friedrich Wieck's wife
Clementine, a copy of a review written by Wieck, modeled on Schumann's fanciful inter-
pretation. Concerning it Chopin wrote, "I could die of laughing at this German's imagi-
nation. He insisted that his brother-in-law should offer the article to [Francois-Joseph]
Fetis for the RevueMusicale,and [Ferdinand] Hiller... only just managed to protect me
by telling Mr. Brother-in-law that, far from being clever, the idea is very stupid" (Frydryk
Chopin, SelectedCorrespondence, ed. Bronislaw Edward Sydow, trans. Arthur Hedley (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1963), 99 (letter to Titus Woyciechowski of 12 December 1831). The
review was published by Gottfried Weber in Caecilia,eine Zeitschrift fiir die musikalischeWelt
14 (1832), no. 55: 219-23. Further, see Nancy B. Reich, Clara Schumann: The Artist and
the Woman,revised ed. (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 2001), 191-92.
89 Charles Rosen, The RomanticGeneration
(Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1995),
1-40 (chapter i, "Musicand Sound").
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
90 "Eusebius spielte wie begeistert und fuhrte unzahlige Gestalten des lebendigsten
Lebens voriiber; es ist, als wenn der frische Geist des Augenblicks die Finger uiber ihre
Mechanik hinaushebt." Schumann, "Ein Opus II," AllgemeinemusikalischeZeitung33, no.
49 (7 December 1831): col. 806.
91 Rosen, TheRomanticGeneration,30-35.
92 "Mit dem Clavier
ging's ein Paar Tage herzlich miserabel; gestern weint' ich vor
Wuth!" Schumann, Tagebiicher 1: 354 (21, 22 July 1831).
MACDONALD
I could perhaps call my attack wholly rich or wholly soft. And how op-
ulent I was yesterday! . . . From the first until today, at least I studied
and played continuously. Today I will be completely done with Hum-
mel's finger exercises. I have begun the Chopin for the third time. It
goes and it doesn't - I myself don't know; to me it seems it should
sound differently; or could it perhaps be the spirit that doesn't sound
any more. With the [Hummel] F-sharp Minor Sonata I have trouble
and glimpses of the sun.s9
By 14 August Schumann says he and von der Luhe are about to begin
the third week of their Claviercursus. He maps out a schedule of practice
that includes the Chopin finale, first movement of the Hummel Sonata,
complete Hummel finger exercises, and his own Concerto, that is, what
must be the first movement in a form newly revised and completed
since he played it for Wieck in May.94 It is probably this piece he had in
mind on 8 August when he wrote his mother about "the happiness of a
young composer," of "what sort of feeling it is to be able to call some-
thing entirely one's own."95 Soon after Wieck's return on 9 August he
presented the Concerto's complete first movement (minus the tuttis) to
a group of his friends-Wieck, Clara, Dorn, Probst, von der Luhe, an
unknown student, Julius Knorr, and Glock.96 557
After he performed the Concerto, Schumann declared it the first
piece in his style that inclines toward the romantic.97 Just what he
93 ". .. den
Anschlag k6nnt' ich vielleicht vollgroB oder vollweich nennen. Und wie
reich war ich gestern! . ..Von ersten bis heute spielt' ich und studirt' ich wenigsten an-
haltend. Heute werd' ich mit Hummel's Fingerfibungen ganz fertig. Mit Chopin hab' ich
zum dritten mal angefangen. Es geht u. geht nicht - ich weiB selbst nicht; mir ist's als
muBte es anders klingen; oder sollte das vielleicht der Geist seyn, der nicht mehr klingt.
Mit der Fis moll Sonate hab' ich Noth und Sonnenblicke." Schumann, Tagebiicher,: 358.
94 Schumann,
Tagebiicher,: 360, 361.
95 "Ich schrieb auch uiber das Gluck einesjungen Componisten ungefthr: Wenn du
das wuBtest, was das fur din Geffihl ist, etwas ganz sein Eigenthum nennen zu dfirfen."
Schumann, Tagebiicher,: 361 (14 August 1831); Jugendbriefe,146. At the same time he
was revising the Concerto, Schumann may also have been putting finishing touches
on the Abegg Variations which he had ready to send to the publisher Kistner on 12 Sep-
tember (Schumann, Briefe.NeueFolge,415). The two works share several leaves in his first
sketchbook (Schumann, "Skizzenbuch I," bifolia pp. 25-26/29-30; 53-54/75-76; 55-
56/73-74; 65-66/87-88). But Schumann had performed a version of the Variations as
early as 22 February 1830 in Heidelberg (Tagebiicher,1: 228, here called Abegg waltzes).
Dorn remembers hearing a performance of them in connection with his first meeting
with Schumann in fall 1830, and Richard Wagner also recalls a performance, perhaps
from the same time (Eismann, Quellenwerke,1: 74 [letter from Dorn to Wasielewski of
7 September 1856]; Cosima Wagner, Die Tagebiicher vol. 2 [1878-1883], ed. Martin Gregor-
Dellin and Dietrich Mack [Munich and Zurich: Piper, 1977], 227 [12 November 1878]).
Already in January 1831 Schumann had written J. August Lemke that he was ready to
publish the Abegg set (Briefeund NotizenRobertund ClaraSchumanns,32 [letter of 11 Janu-
ary]). More likely the work that excited Schumann in summer 1831 was the Concerto.
96 Schumann, 1: 361-62 (14 August 1831).
Tagebiicher,
97 Schumann, 1: 361 (14 August 1831).
Tagebiicher,
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
Conclusion
Schumann never became a professional pianist. An injury to his
right hand in fall 1831 precluded this career.l03 Whether he would
have become a professional had this not happened is an open question.
What we do know is that during the brief time he trained to join the
[letters to his mother of 14 June, 9 August 1832; 28 June 1833]). Soon thereafter it be-
came clear to him that he would not have a career as a pianist (Schumann, Briefe.Neue
Folge,40-41 [letter to Topken of 5 April 1833]). Seemingly, the worst damage was done
during the time Wieck was away with Clara on a tour to Paris, from 25 September 1831 to
1 May 1832. Schumann may have been following the advice of Hummel who writes, "Hi-
erbei kann Logier'sFinger- und Handgelenkffihrer angewandt werden, und ist dem
Schiiler, besonders in Abwesenheit des Lehrers, der richtigen und ruhigen Haltung der
Hande wegen zu empfehlen" (Anweisungzum Pianofortespiel,39). Schumann left few diary
entries for this time, but Dorn, with whom he continued his counterpoint lessons, re-
called that he practiced little (Eismann, Quellenwerk,1: 74 [letter from Dorn to
Wasielewski of 7 September 1856]).
"'4 "Die Zeitschrift hat seit ihrer Entstehung der Clavieretude immer besondere
Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt, weil sich in ihr die Fortschritte der Kunst des Clavierspiels,
wenn auch mehr der Mechanik, am schnellsten zeigen .. ." Schumann, "Etuden fur das
Pianoforte," Neue ZeitschriftfirMusik 11, no. 25 (24 September 1839): 97.
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
As to the piano etude we have somewhat more grounds than our fore-
fathers to suppose that it has reached its greatest height. Scales are di-
vided up in all directions, combined in all conceivable figures, the fin-
gers and hands are arranged in every possible position, etc.105
In the course of the year around 30 collections [of etudes] were dis-
cussed. In our last etude review (this past March) we expressed the
hope that, as great as the energy put into the etude, there would set in
accordingly as great a cessation [of production]. We were mistaken.
"Notre malheur, le voici, nous avons trop d'esprit," said a member of
the French Chamber of Deputies lately, although in the political
sense. In our case it is, "Our misfortune is, we don't know whither we
are going with our fluency and cannot leave etude writing alone."1o6
mann are Johann Peter Pixis, Exercises en forme de valse, op. 80, or
Charles Mayer, Six Exercices, op. 31, which he calls "graces, with charm-
ing form and bright countenance."1?9 But he believed the concert
etude reached its greatest development in Chopin, whose studies dis-
play supreme virtuosity subordinated to Phantasie, the goal he set not
just in his published etudes, but in his own, earlier practice regimen.
No one will dispute how much Clementi and Cramer [in his Etudesen
42 exercicesdoigtes dans les differentsTons, 2 volumes] derived from
[Bach]. From that time up to Moscheles [Studien, Op. 70] came a
break. Perhaps it was the influence of Beethoven, who, hostile to
everything mechanical, inclined more to pure poetic creation. With
Moscheles and to an even greater degree in Chopin [12 Etudes, Op.
1o], from then on, along with an interest in the technical one in unre-
strained imagination also ruled. 1o
What could never be reconciled, however, was the old world of the
amateur in which Schumann grew up and the world of the new profes-
sional. The oxymoronic concert etude embodies the very predicament
in which Schumann found himself and out of which he never found his
way, namely how to combine the amateur's sheer joy in making music 561
with a perfection, and in the case of an ideal performer like Paganini,
artistry, that comes only with professionalism. Initially unwilling to en-
ter into the second, mechanical stage of piano practicing, Schumann
was then frustrated and unable to leave it for the third, whose promise
of return to the first, naive stage of music making he found, like the
promise of a return to the prelapsarian state of man, unattainable. His
technical studies left him, like Faust, unable to earn his way into par-
adise through spectacular engineering feats. In the end, he remained
an amateur performer; several witnesses have described his playing as
unique, his improvisations as unforgettable."' He delegated to Clara
"'9 Schumann, "Pianoforte. Etuden," Neue Zeitschriftfur Musik 4, nos. 4 and 6 (12
and 9gJanuary 1836): 16 (on Pixis), 24 (on Mayer).
-o "Wie viel Clementi und Cramer aus ihm [Bach] sch6pften, wird Niemand in
Abrede stellen. Von da bis Moscheles trat eine Pause ein. Vielleicht daB es der EinfluB-
Beethovens war, der, allem Mechanischen feind, mehr zum rein-poetischen Schaffen auf-
forderte. In Moscheles und noch in h6herem Grad in Chopin waltet daher neben dem
technischen Interesse auch das phantastische." The brackets in the translation indicate
works cited by Schumann in his footnotes. Schumann, "Die Pianoforte-Etuden, ihren
Zwecken nach geordnet," Neue ZeitschriftfiirMusik 4, no. 11 (6 February 1836): 45. The
Chopin Etudes, op. io were published by Kistner in Leipzig in 1833. Schumann calls
them 12 GrandEtudes. Oe. 12. 2 Livraisons.
I1 Jansen, Die Davidsbiindler,69-76 ("Schumann als Clavierspieler"). Witnesses who
describe Schumann's piano playing include his student friend Theodor Topken, and,
from the later 183os, Oswald Lorenz, Alfred D6rffel, Hieronymus Truhn, Franz Brendel,
andJulius Knorr. In 1838 Schumann also played for Louis Spohr and Moritz Hauptmann.
THE JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
Wieck the task of playing his works in public, but this meant acquiesc-
12
ing in programming choices governed by professional considerations.
His own solution to the dilemma, destroying the very fingers that tied
his music to the physical world, is as bizarre as any tale by E. T. A. Hoff-
mann; in this way he found a path to the paradise he had earlier
longed for where, without fingers, he "could play with [his] heart on
other hearts." In his compositions, the solutions Schumann presents to
his dilemma can be just as desperately, if gorgeously, farfetched, for ex-
ample in the Symphonic Etudes, op. 13: here is the most difficult piano
piece he ever wrote, yet its spirit is exactly that of his whimsical, for the
amateur more easily sightreadable sets, for example Papillons or Carni-
val."l3 But what amateur could approach the Etudes? As Clara Wieck
reports, even a group of specially selected professionals were befud-
dled. 14 This falling between two stools perhaps explains why the Etudes
are seldom brought to the concert hall; in 1994 I heard, in my opinion,
an exquisite performance by Andras Schiff at the Dusseldorf Tonhalle
that was panned by a local reviewer as too refined. What he wanted to
hear was more brilliance; perhaps of more interest to Schumann was,
rather than any brilliance associated with the generic title he gave the
562 set, a suggestion of the colorful and complex world of the orchestra
the player is invited to summon up, using his hands to create an entire
symphony of sound.
Oberlin College
112
Reich, Clara Schumann, 257-66 ("Clara Schumann and the Music of Robert
Schumann").
113 In fact, the set is based on a theme
by the amateur flutist Baron Ignaz von
Fricken, father of Schumann's onetime fiancee, Ernestine. See Eismann, Quellenwerk,1:
124 ("Aus dem Projektenbuch").
114 At different times Wieck played some of the Etudes for Pierre Zimmermann,
professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire; the Belgian violinist Alexandre Art6t;
young pianist Charles Halle; and pianist and composer Valentin Alkan (Schumann,
Briefwechsel,2: 454, 537 [nos. 138 and 165, letters to Robert of 21 March and 27 May
1831 from Paris]).
ABSTRACT
From the summer of 1830 through the fall of 1831, Schumann
worked diligently at the piano with the intention of becoming a profes-
sional performer. Beginning in May 1831 he regularly recorded his
progress in his diary, describing his repertory, hand position, his aes-
thetic and technical goals, his frustrations and triumphs. Repeatedly he
MACDONALD
563