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: : I am interested in the relationship between the psychiatric illness of : : Robert Schumann and his late works. : : The following questions arise: : : 1) what is the nature of his illness (schizophrenia? neurosyphilis?) and in : : which year of his life the first symptoms get through? : : 2) are there signs in his late works of a declining mastership? : : 3) if the answer to question # 2) is affirmative, is this because of his : : illness? Is a person who is suffering from schizophrenia or neurosyphilis be : : able to compose music at all? : : 4) is the answer to question # 2) affirmative because he went ill? In other : : words, are we willing to hear decay because we know the tragic outcome of : : his life? : : Who wants to comment? : : henri sentis : Hello, Henri - I am a long-time admirer of Robert : Schumann and his music. : Robert Schumann likely suffered from syphillis, : probably contracted during his university days. : It is probable that the disease not only accounted : for the decline of Schumann's mental condition and : his eventual death at the asylum at Endenich (near : Bonn, Germany), but also for the injury to his : hand, which many have attributed to a device of : Schumann's own design intended to strengthen one : of the fingers for pianistic exercise. : It is indeed ironic that the disease that muted : and then silenced Schumann's great creativity : may have also been responsible for his : decision to abandon his piantistic career, and : concentrate instead upon composition. : Schumann often feared the spectre of insanity - : even avoiding the sight of asylums if he could. : And he once pointed out in his own writings that : unstable mental conditions ran through his family : line. : He had several bouts of instability throughout : his adult life. The symphony nr. 2 was written : under the cloud of depression (the slow movement : particularly reflects his mood at the time), but : in my opinion, the work bears no sign of flagging : creativity or skill. To the contrary, it stands : as one of the greatest of Romantic-era symphonies, : Beethovenesque in its struggle from darkness to : light - and yet not derivative of Beethoven, but : rather a unique work and voice unto itself. : However, toward the end of Schumann's creative : life, it would appear his disease exacted its toll : on creativity. The violin concerto, while having : its moments, seems often forced. The worked dis- : appeared from the concert stage almost immediately : after its premiere, not to return until 1935 - but : the details of its disappearance comprise a story : in itself! : - K. v. Tschirnhaus

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