CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO SCHUMANN, THE

This Companion is an accessible up-to-date introduction to Schumann: his time, his temperament, his style and his ouvre. An international team of scholars explores the cultural context, musical and poetic fabric, sources of inspiration and interpretative reach of key works from the Schumann repertoire ranging from his famous lieder and piano pieces to chamber, orchestral and dramatic works. Additional chapters address Schumann’s presence in nineteenth- and twentieth-century composition and the fascinating reception history of his late works. Tables, illustrations, a detailed chronology and advice on further reading make it an ideally informative handbook for both the Schumann connoisseur and the music lover. An excellent textbook for the university student of courses on key composers of nineteenth-century Western Classical music, it is an invaluable guide for all who are interested in the thought, aesthetics and affective power of one of the most intriguing figures of a culturally rich and formative period.

Contents - Part I. Contexts: 1. Introduction to Schumann: life stories Beate Perrey; 2. Life and literature, poetry and philosophy: Robert Schumann’s aesthetics of music Ulrich Tadday; 3. Schumann’s heroes: Schubert, Beethoven, Bach Nicholas Marston; Part II. Works: 4. The piano music I: a world of images John Daverio; 5. The piano music II: afterimages Laura Tunbridge; 6. Why sing? Lieder and song cycles Jonathan Dunsby; 7. The chamber music Linda Roesner; 8. Novel symphonies and dramatic overtures Scott Burnham; 9. The concertos Joseph Kerman; 10. Dramatic stage and choral works Liz Paley; Part III. Reception: 11. Schumann in his time and since Reinhard Kapp; 12. The compositional reception of Schumann’s music since 1950 Jörn Peter Hiekel; 13. Songs of dawn and dusk: coming to terms with the late music John Daverio.