Robert Schumann
24 quotes
Biography
"To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist."
"Nothing right can be accomplished in art without enthusiasm."
"I am so fresh in soul and spirit that life gushes and bubbles around me in a thousand springs."
"To send light into the depths of the human heart -- this is the artist's calling!"
"Sometimes I am so full of music, and so overflowing with melody, that I find it simply impossible to write down anything."
"The talent works, the genius creates."
"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of."
"Perhaps genius alone understands genius fully. (Sometimes translated as: Perhaps only genius fully understands genius)"
"Schumann’s writing for the piano is very orchestral, and sometimes does not lie so easily under the hands. But it is still very well written for the piano and the technique he demands perhaps suits me better than Chopin’s."
"[A]lmost every simple piece of Schumann’s has a hidden secret (with few exceptions, for example the Arabesque). Such a seemingly easy piece like “Des Abends” or some of the pieces from “Kinderszenen” can only be played by accomplished musicians."
"Schumann‘s piano music is conceived more instrumentally, not necessarily for piano. This is true of Beethoven and Brahms too."
"Schumann is the most representative musical figure of central European Romanticism as much because of his limitations as because of his genius: in his finest works, indeed, he exploited these limitations in such a way that they gave a force to his genius that no other contemporary could attain."
"Schumann’s piano settings mostly evolve around the middle range of the piano keyboard, and lastly also for that reason his music is much more difficult to play. Often enough the result is mediocre sound (in both senses of the word) if you do not work strongly on highlighting the individual lines of the texture."
"If we were all determined to play the first violin we should never have an ensemble. therefore, respect every musician in his proper place."
"Without enthusiasm nothing great can be effected in art."
"You will be most readily cured of vanity or presumption by studying the history of music, and by hearing the master pieces which have been produced at different periods."
"From a pound of iron, that costs little, a thousand watch-springs can be made, whose value becomes prodigious. The pound you have received from the Lord,--use it faithfully."
"By means of industry and perseverance you will rise higher and higher."
"If, while at the piano, you attempt to form little melodies, that is very well; but if they come into your mind of themselves, when you are not practising, you may be still more pleased; for the internal organ of music is then roused in you. The fingers must do what the head desires; not the contrary."
"To send light into the darkness of men's hearts--such is the duty of the artist."
"Let your intimate friends be chosen from such as are better informed than yourself."
"The flame that is naturally clear always gives the most light and heat. If I could blend my talent for poetry and music into one, the light would burn still clearer, and I might go far."
"Remember, there are more people in the world than yourself. Be modest! You have not yet invented nor thought anything which others have not thought or invented before. And should you really have done so, consider it a gift of heaven which you are to share with others."
"Talent works, genius creates."