Robert Schumann
Life and Death of a Musician
This candid, intimate, and compellingly written new biography offers a completely 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 background 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 his father-in-law. Schumann was neither manic depressive nor schizophrenic, though he struggled with financial problems and 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 demystifies a figure frequently regarded as a Romantic enigma. It frees Schumann from one hundred and fifty years of myth-making and unjustified psychological speculation. It reveals him, for the first time, as a brilliant, passionate, resolute musician and thoroughly creative human being, and as the composer of arguably the best music of his generation.
About the Author
John Worthen was Professor of D. H. Lawrence Studies at the University of Nottingham. His books include "The Gang: Coleridge", the "Hutchinsons and the Wordsworths in 1802".
Reviews
"Worthen's is by far the most comprehensive account I have read of the facts of Schumann's life. His central thesis is important, and he writes clearly and freshly, bringing a wise head to an intricate tangle of evidence" – Susan Tomes, The Independent
"beautifully written and meticulously researched and foodtnoted" – Simon Heffer, Literary Review
"this is a biography with attitude" – Misha Donat, BBC Music Magazine
"engaging, well written and clearly aimed at the general reader... for those wanting to read an affectionate life of one of the greatest and most loveable figures of the early 19th century, this book can be recommended" – Steven Isserlis, The Guardian
"alongside the tragedies, this riveting account of Schumann's life also manages to encapsulate both the joy and elation of one of music's greatest, still neglected geniuses, and to express a passionate enthusiasm for his works. For this, Schumannites ought to be deeply grateful" – Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times
"John Worthen's fine and scholarly new biography" – John Adamson, The Sunday Telegraph
