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Schumann and the Myth of Madness
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 June 2020
Abstract
Despite the recent flurry of revisionism in Schumann biography, the last months of his career are still misunderstood. Biographers describe a gradual psychological decline, which led to Schumann's removal from his position. But there is no evidence that Schumann was suffering from mental illness before 10 February 1854. According to Clara's diary and correspondence, Schumann was healthy and contented in the fall of 1853, and his psychotic break came as a shock. Two recently published sources – a report to the Düsseldorf city council and correspondence between Schumann and a Berlin colleague – suggest that Schumann decided to resign and seek his fortune elsewhere. The fall of 1853 was one of the most prolific periods in his career and he may have felt that he could support his family on his earnings as a composer. Schumann's resignation was not the irrational response of a desperate man, but a reasonable course of action.
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References
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55 Daverio, Robert Schumann, 453.
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60 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 634 and 642.
61 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 2, 441 and 446. Clara also reports that Robert suffered what she calls an ‘unnatural hearing affliction [unnatürlichen Gehörsaffektionen]’ on their first night in Holland, which prevented both of them from sleeping. Litzmann, Clara Schumann, vol. 2, 294.
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111 Cited in Appel, ‘Promemoria’, 46, n. 102.
112 Cited in Litzmann, Clara Schumann, vol. 2, 247.
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114 Rauchfleisch, Robert Schumann, 143–4.
115 Hoffmann-Axthelm, Robert Schumann, 145–6.
116 Cited in Appel, ‘Promemoria’, 42, n. 96. Schumann mistakenly wrote 1851.
117 Appel, ‘Promemoria’, 18.
118 Appel, ‘Promemoria’, 21.
119 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 556.
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125 Federhofer-Königs, Wasielewski, 39–40.
126 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 680–81.
127 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 669.
128 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 681–2.
129 The works are: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, opus 20; Romances for Piano, opus 21; Romances for Violin and Piano, opus 22; and Lieder aus Jucunde, opus 23. They were published in 1854 and 1855.
130 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 640–1.
131 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 641.
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134 Musgrave, The Life of Schumann, 154.
135 Ostwald, Schumann, 270.
136 Worthen, Robert Schumann, 344.
137 Worthen, Robert Schumann, 345.
138 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 669.
139 Worthen, Robert Schumann, 328. Worthen misstates Schumann's salary as 700 thalers. For the correct amount, see Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 668.
140 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 669 for his salary, 681–3 for his income from compositions, and 612–44 for his expenses. I (like Worthen) have rounded off to the nearest thaler. Schumann apparently made an arithmetic error in adding up his income for 1853. Although the income from his compositions adds up to 2,003 thalers, he writes 1,925. Worthen replicates this mistake. See Worthen, Robert Schumann, 328.
141 Schumann, Tagebücher, vol. 3, 666.
142 For annotated texts of their correspondence see Robert and Clara Schumann, Briefedition, series 2, vol. 17, 641–90.
143 Robert and Clara Schumann, Briefedition, series 2, vol. 17, 684.
144 Litzmann, Clara Schumann, vol. 2, 245; Appel, ‘Promemoria’, 30–31 n. 43.
145 Robert and Clara Schumann, Briefedition, series 2, vol. 17, 685.
146 Robert and Clara Schumann, Briefedition, series 2, vol. 17, 685–7.
147 Robert and Clara Schumann, Briefedition, series 2, vol. 17, 688–9.
148 Appel, ‘Promemoria’, 6.
149 Robert and Clara Schumann, Briefedition, series 2, vol. 17, 685 n. 4.
150 See, for example, Jensen, Schumann, 263; Musgrave, The Life of Schumann, 158–60.
151 ‘Aus Düsseldorf’, 157–9.