Review (PDF) Schumann: The Inner Voices Of A Musical Genius
After obtaining access to long sought-after archival material about the final years of Robert Schumann, Lise Deschamps Ostwald, the author’s widow, is finally able to detail the composer’s last years at the mental institution in Endenich, fulfilling her husband’s original intent.
Paperback: 440 pages
Publisher: Northeastern; Revised & exapanded ed. edition (July 8, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1555537243
ISBN-13: 978-1555537241
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.9 x 8.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,639,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #67 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Schumann #696 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Biographies > Classical #5745 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > History & Criticism
Ostwald has written a careful and insightful biography. Not only are effects of mental illness in musical creativity explored, but there are a number of interesting philosophical issues raised about mind and it's functioning. The subjective experience of creativity, musical or otherwise, is impossible to communicate fully, but Ostwald does a remarkable job. Ostwald's thoughts on musical expression and meanings therein are original, and not extensions of Suzanne Langer's (or other philosophers') interpretation. That Ostwald himself is a pianist as well as psychiatrist allows an intimate understanding of musical cognition, and this in conjuntion with his psychiatric training makes for an unusual analysis. This is not light reading,but definitely in range of an interested reader. It is thought-provoking and facinating. I highly recommend it.
Ostwald isn't a normal biographer. He is concerned with more than the 'facts'. His focus is on the complex relationship between Schumann's music, his life, his mental state and his relationship with Clara. But to this end he has done a major service to our understanding of Schumann by going well beyond the published sources. Ostwald has translated hitherto unpublished diaries and correspondence that reveal a Schumann who is considerably more complex than he appears in biographies up to this.Certainly, Ostwald's interest in the psychiatric elements of Schumann's life results in a certain amount of terminology, but this is not jargon; there is a chapter which reviews Schumann's illnesses using current American diagnostic guildelines, so this is hardly psychobabble!Ostwald is also a tireless advocate of the less-well-known Schumann, for which he also deserves credit.And finally, the chapter on Schumann's final illness is haunting and chilling. He died a much more wretched death than we supposed.Strongly recommended.
The late Peter Ostwald's biography is still the most insightful, intelligent and accurate account of Schumann's life and his illness. Dr. Ostwald undertook a very careful study of all the factual material available and drew the most realistic, sensible and compelling conclusions about Schumann's life. Schumann, like other composers, was long regarded as schizophrenic while some writers are still recycling the old notion that he suffered from syphilis and that it was the cause of his mental decline. Schumann was, as Ostwald rightly claims, bipolar. The signs of his illness were in place long before he might have contracted syphilis and even that possibility is in doubt. Ostwald brought Schumann scholarship into the 20th century and debunked a lot of misconceptions about the composer, his illness and his relationships. Highly recommended.
Peter Ostwald and his wife Lise Deschamps Ostwald have dedicated enormous time and energy to illuminating Schumann's music in the light of his life events and psychological condition. They have succeeded wonderfully with this book. They bring insights to Schumann's life and music that do not exist anywhere else - it is the result of a decades long labor of love, by a musician psychiatrist. I am grateful to them both for this creation. I also recommend their book on Glenn Gould highly. [nb: I didn't know Peter and have never met Lise. But much of them comes through in the Schumann and Gould books. Ich hätte sie so gerne gekannt.]
Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius Schumann: Album for the Young, Op. 68: Piano Solo (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics) 50 Selected Songs by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf & Strauss: Low Voice (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics) By Hal Leonard Corp. - Fifty Selected Songs by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, & Strauss: for High Voice: (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, Vol. 1754): (Sheet Music): 1st (first) Edition Inner Peace: Stepping into Serenity to Find Peace of Mind (Inner Peace and Happiness, Peace of Mind Book 1) Recovery of Your Inner Child: The Highly Acclaimed Method for Liberating Your Inner Self Inner Bonding: Becoming a Loving Adult to Your Inner Child Codependency Recovery: Wounded Souls Dancing in The Light: Book 1: Empowerment, Freedom, and Inner Peace through Inner Child Healing Voices of Lung Cancer: The Healing Companion: Stories for Courage, Comfort and Strength (Voices Of series) Hearing Voices, Living Fully: Living with the Voices in My Head Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History (Fourth Edition) (Vol. 1) (Voices of Freedom (WW Norton)) Elijah: An Oratorio for Full Chorus of Mixed Voices, Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone Soli (Double Solo Quartet of Mixed Voices) and Piano (G. Schirmer's Editions of Oratorios and Cantatas) Interpreting Musical Gestures, Topics, and Tropes: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert (Musical Meaning and Interpretation) 50 Selected Songs by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf & Strauss: High Voice Album of Easy String Quartets, Vol 1: Pieces by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and others (Kalmus Edition) Music and Medicine: Hummel, Weber, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner: On Their Lives, Works, and Medical Histories Album of Easy String Quartets, Vol 3: Pieces by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and others (Kalmus Edition) Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms Piano Music of Robert Schumann, Series I (Dover Music for Piano) Piano Music of Robert Schumann, Series III (Dover Music for Piano)
