This study has attempted to observe and understand the reorchestrations of the four Robert Schumann symphonies through the analysis of revisions found in the edited scores of several eminent conductors. To provide a faithful and effective performance of Schumann's orchestral conception, the conductor may find it necessary to alter certain features in his scores. Conductors have complained that Schumann's symphonies are ineffectual in many passages. This is the reason they are less frequently performed than they deserve. Four performance editions of the complete Schumann symphonies were chosen to form the basis for this study. They are: Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, George Szell, Felix Weingartner. The revisions of other conductors were incorporated as available and appropriate. These include: Fritz Reiner, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Georg Solti, Joseph Keilberth, Gotthold Lessing, Willem Mengelberg, Eugene Ormandy, Hans Pfitzner, Theodore Thomas, Max Reger, Fritz Busch. The study of Schumann's orchestration involved the investigation of his development as an orchestral composer, including the influence of the piano on his scoring and his understanding of the orchestra. The state of the orchestra in Schumann's time and his development as an orchestral composer were also studied in order to better understand his technique in terms of his orchestral experience. The study of the revisions reveals that Schumann's scoring was less successful than many other composers in providing an orchestration which supports and clarifies the structural logic of the composition. It thus becomes the conductor's responsibility to assume the role of editor to provide a faithful performance of the work. Analysis of the reorchestrations reveals changes concerning dynamic balance, clarity, timbre and style, as well as manner of performance. This study has attempted to provide vital information about the performing editions and the aesthetic effect achieved through alteration of the original Schumann scores.

A thesis which examines Schumann's secret musical language and the development of that language into a highly complex system of extra-musical meanings expressed in tones, special motifs, harmonic progressions and keys. This study traces the development of Schumann's procedures by first analysing the songs of 1840 to see which repeated musical devices connected with texts. Once they have been identified, the application of these devices is then examined, retrospectively, in selected works for solo piano. Relying heavily on Schumann's diaries and letters, as well as a detailed analysis of selected works for voice and solo piano, this study shows the extra-musical meaning to be ultimately concerned with Schumann's wish to marry Clara Wieck and her father's unyeilding opposition to the idea.

2 v. (iii, 625 p.) : music ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / A thesis which examines Schumann's secret musical language and the development of that language into a highly complex system of extra-musical meanings expressed in tones, special motifs, harmonic progressions and keys. This study traces the development of Schumann's procedures by first analysing the songs of 1840 to see which repeated musical devices connected with texts. Once they have been identified, the application of these devices is then examined, retrospectively, in selected works for solo piano. Relying heavily on Schumann's diaries and letters, as well as a detailed analysis of selected works for voice and solo piano, this study shows the extra-musical meaning to be ultimately concerned with Schumann's wish to marry Clara Wieck and her father's unyeilding opposition to the idea. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Elder School of Music, 2001

No description available.

Not available / text

Many have criticized Schumann's compositional style as being incompatible with sonata form. For example, his Fantasia, Op. 17 appears to be a series of cleverly interactive themes which, by virtue of their poetic diversity and dramatic momentum, manage barely to function within the confines of a quasi-sonata form. Schumann's discomfort, some would say, is made evident by the absence of developmental sections in the outer two movements, by the invasion of literary and musical quotation, and even by the rhetorical presentations of his too lyrical themes. Such appraisals focus on that which is absent or unusual, ignoring the inherent craftsmanship and masterful motivic manipulation exhibited throughout the Fantasia. Schumann does not explore and reveal the latent energy in a collection of motives; rather, he varies, transforms, mutates and metamorphizes a few cellular ideas into a collage of richly diversified themes, all of which bear the stamp of these "genetic" cells. Much of the musical momentum in the Fantasia derives its energy from the surface interplay of those themes; thus the engine of the form is more closely akin to variation and cyclic techniques than to those involving thematic development. The essential purpose of this paper is to explore thematic processes in Schumann's Fantasia, these being fundamental to the language of the work. The paper also encompasses a history of the fantasia genre, an overview of Schumann's aesthetics, and a brief discussion of the Fantasia's structure. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Graduate

Although Robert Schumann’s late style has been the subject of several probing studies in recent years, few scholars have concentrated their attention on the chamber works composed in the autumn of 1851. Perhaps most intriguing are the opp. 105 and 121 violin sonatas, whose first movements suggest a dialogue with the eighteenth-century sonata form by preserving many of the same rhetorical and structural elements. Throughout both movements, however, Schumann uses an intricate web of tonal ambiguities, metrical dissonances, and unusual key relationships to recast the internal workings of these outwardly conventional sonata forms. As he uses these techniques to undermine important structural moments of each movement, Schumann significantly changes the overall plot of the eighteenth-century sonata form, while also demonstrating his sensitivity to the dramatic possibilities of this historical form in the middle of the nineteenth century. By discussing Schumann’s dialogue with the eighteenth-century sonata form throughout the opp. 105 and 121 violin sonatas, this study attempts to situate these works within both their historical and contemporary musical contexts, and thus considers a previously unexplored avenue toward rehabilitating the reception of Schumann’s late chamber works. / School of Music

Not available / text

Robert Schumann's dramatic music remains, for the most part, undiscovered and therefore performed infrequently. Genoveva, Das Paradies und die Peri, Manfred, and Scenen aus Goethes Faust are comprised of some of Schumann's most beautiful music from his last stylistic period. Schumann envisioned a national German opera that had a complete union of text and music and a plot based upon the supernatural and mythical German legends. His lofty aspiration was to raise the dramatic music of his time to the high standards of the literary culture. Composing dramatic music for Goethe's Faust was a challenging endeavor for Schumann. Scenen aus Goethes Faust was a project that he struggled with from 1844-1853 because of both the text and the grand scale of the piece. One purpose of an analysis of the structure and content of Schumann's Scenen aus Goethes Faust and Goethe's poetry is to facilitate the solo vocal performer's interpretation. Utilizing selected scenes from Scenen aus Goethes Faust; "Scene im Garten" from Part I, "Sonnenaufgang," and "Mitternacht" from Part II and "Hier ist die Aussicht frei" from Part III, this research paper will define important recurring musical motives, assess Schumann's usage of contrasting vocal genres and their relationship to the unfolding drama, explore important vocal performance issues for the baritone and soprano soloists and investigate the manner in which Schumann uses the orchestra to depict and communicate the meaning of Goethe's text. Schumann's method of setting Goethe's text will also be examined, as the ability to comprehend the poetic text was of primary importance.

The purpose of this work, an analysis of the song cycle Dichterliebe (Op. 48) by Robert Schumann, is to recognize the special features of the songs which will contribute to their understanding and musical interpretation and performance. The Dichterliebe was chosen as the composition to be analyzed because of its prominent position in the vocal literature of the Romantic period.