Composer Robert Schumann's Hand Injury
JanRosen
Hi, fellow piano lovers....
I study music history and theory and play the piano.
I read that 19th century composer Robert Schumann had one time tried to
strenghthen one of his hands in order to develop a better technique for
playing. As a result, he damaged his hand, and could no longer play the
piano. Anyone have any idea exactly what it was that he did to his hand,
and why this would prevent him from playing a piano for the rest of his
life? If all he did was pull a tendon in the hand, and it subsequently
healed, then why was it a problem?
Thanks
Janice
JanR...@aol.com
lar...@bellatlantic.net
I think he tied the pinky back with some string in order to
stretch it or something. I don't have the exact details ...
anyone else? Wasn't there someone else who cut the folds
between their fingers to get a larger reach thereby ruining
their hands? Maybe that was just a rumor...
Larry
gsm wrote:
>
> In article <19970126195...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
> janr...@aol.com (JanRosen) wrote:
>
> > I read that 19th century composer Robert Schumann had one time tried to
> > strenghthen one of his hands in order to develop a better technique for
> > playing. As a result, he damaged his hand, and could no longer play the
> > piano. Anyone have any idea exactly what it was that he did to his hand,
> > and why this would prevent him from playing a piano for the rest of his
> > life? If all he did was pull a tendon in the hand, and it subsequently
> > healed, then why was it a problem?
>
> As I understand it he divised a ghoulish set of exercies with the explicit
> intent of extending his reach with his pinky and to develop it's strength.
> And then he practised this stuff, through pain and misery until he could no
> longer do anything with them. I understand he truly SCREWED his hands up;
> it wasn't a matter of some kind of simple pull.
Achim Gratz
janr...@aol.com (JanRosen) writes:
> I read that 19th century composer Robert Schumann had one time tried to
> strenghthen one of his hands in order to develop a better technique for
> playing. As a result, he damaged his hand, and could no longer play the
> piano. Anyone have any idea exactly what it was that he did to his hand,
> and why this would prevent him from playing a piano for the rest of his
> life? If all he did was pull a tendon in the hand, and it subsequently
> healed, then why was it a problem?
Robert was obsessed with finger independence (as can be witnessed in
much of his piano music), and after various devices meant to
strengthen the fingers he built a device which was meant to _break_
the dependence of the fourth and fifth finger. Unfortunately for him,
he succeeded and had to give up his goal to become a virtuoso. As I
understand, he was still quite capable of playing the piano, but not
for extended periods and certainly not difficult passages involving
the fourth finger. He studied law before music, possibly this
wouldn't have happened if he had studied anatomy instead. Probably
law people shouldn't try to play the piano? 8-) (Hey, Gil! ;)
Achim Gratz.
--+<[ It's the small pleasures that make life so miserable. ]>+--
WWW: http://www.inf.tu-dresden.de/~ag7/{english/}
E-Mail: gr...@ite.inf.tu-dresden.de
Phone: +49 351 463 - 8325
JanRosen
>Someone else who cut the folds between their fingers to get a longer
reach?>
Ouch!! Bet that hurt like the devil!!
Janice
Eric Harding
I think he tried to make his 4th finger as independent of movement as
his other fingers.As we well know that 4th finger is a stubborn little
bugger.The contraption basically straight jacketed his 4th finger
while the others played. I wonder what medication he was on? ERic
Valerie Langfield
In article <19970126195...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, JanRosen
<janr...@aol.com> writes
>I read that 19th century composer Robert Schumann had one time tried to
>strenghthen one of his hands in order to develop a better technique for
>playing. As a result, he damaged his hand, and could no longer play the
>piano. Anyone have any idea exactly what it was that he did to his hand,
>and why this would prevent him from playing a piano for the rest of his
>life? If all he did was pull a tendon in the hand, and it subsequently
>healed, then why was it a problem?
Schumann had syphilis. (Note that a symptom of tertiary syphilis is
mental instability.)
One of the 'treatments' for syphilis, at that time, was taking mercury.
One of the side effects of taking mercury was paralysis, with symptoms
such as Schumann experienced.
The jury is still out on all of this (and I'm sure will remain so!), and
there have been threads relating to this before in the music newsgroups.
Personally, I incline to the syphilis/mercury theory; it seems to me
that Victorian prudery could have given rise to the mechanical
contraption theory.
Many, many years ago, there was a well-researched article on this
subject, I think by Eric Sams, in the Musical Times. I'd love to know
when it was, so I can get a reprint. I must find an index...
--
Valerie Langfield
http://www.minuet.demon.co.uk/
Music with Meaning -
neat PC program that plays music while you read all about it!
Jimmy416
Schumann, if I understand it correctly, rigged a weight-and-pully system
which pulled back on one of his fingers as he played piano. I would
imagine there was a pully above the piano, with a cord attached to one
finger, and a weight at the far end of the cord. (Incidentally, I mention
of this in a column I wrote in Canadian Musician magazine, September 1991
issue; the piece was on keeping your hands in good shape away from the
keyboard.)
Achim Gratz
Valerie Langfield <a...@minuet.demon.co.uk> writes:
> The other theory is this (very briefly):
> Schumann had syphilis. (Note that a symptom of tertiary syphilis is
> mental instability.)
> One of the 'treatments' for syphilis, at that time, was taking mercury.
> One of the side effects of taking mercury was paralysis, with symptoms
> such as Schumann experienced.
Very unlikely, given that he had children with Clara after his injury
without her contracting the disease and the time it takes for syphilis
to get into the tertiary state. Also the descriptions of his mental
disorder are more consistent with schizoformic psychic disorder than
the delirium that results from syphilis part three.
> The jury is still out on all of this (and I'm sure will remain so!), and
> there have been threads relating to this before in the music newsgroups.
You're not confusing this with Schubert, aren't you?
> Personally, I incline to the syphilis/mercury theory; it seems to me
> that Victorian prudery could have given rise to the mechanical
> contraption theory.
Why, does it sound romantic? As I said, this is a rather far fetched
construction and the evidence is shaky. There is however plenty of
evidence that:
1) To Schumann finger independence was the essence of piano playing.
2) He would have had easy access to devices for strengthening the
fingers.
3) He didn't know enough anatomy to see the futility of his attempts
to make the fourth finger as independend as the others.
Paul Marxhausen
Achim Gratz (gr...@ite.inf.tu-dresden.de) wrote:
: janr...@aol.com (JanRosen) writes:
: Robert was obsessed with finger independence (as can be witnessed in
: much of his piano music), and after various devices meant to
: strengthen the fingers he built a device which was meant to _break_
: the dependence of the fourth and fifth finger. Unfortunately for him,
: he succeeded and had to give up his goal to become a virtuoso. As I
: understand, he was still quite capable of playing the piano, but not
: for extended periods and certainly not difficult passages involving
: the fourth finger. He studied law before music, possibly this
: wouldn't have happened if he had studied anatomy instead. Probably
: law people shouldn't try to play the piano? 8-) (Hey, Gil! ;)
about 40% of the human population have actual interconnections
between the 4th & 5th finger tendons that make total indepedence not
possible. Richapd Norris discusses this in his Musician's
Survival Guide, and Gyorgy Sandor has an excellent discussion
about the goal of finger independence in his "On Plnaying Piano."
For more info on both see http://www.engr.unl.edu/eeshop/music.html
--
paul marxhausen ```` ``````` ````````````` ```````````` ```````````` ``````````
`` ` ` ` ` ` university of nebraska - lincoln ` ` ` `` ` ` `` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` grace ` ` ` `
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` happens `
A Anderson
On 26 Jan 1997, JanRosen wrote:
> I read that 19th century composer Robert Schumann had one time tried to
> strenghthen one of his hands in order to develop a better technique for
> playing. As a result, he damaged his hand, and could no longer play the
> piano.
It was supposed to be his 5th finger on each hand, from using a
passive hand-stretcher of some kind.
There is a biography of Schumann that throws doubt on this story. Actually
I think it may be in a series of studies on what various composers died
of, written by a medical scientist interested in music. He
re-evaluates several cases based on contemporary records & re-diagnoses
them.
Anyway, the story on Schumann went something like this - there is a record
of his having a call-up for military service, or being exempted or some
such, and in this record it says the damaged fingers were not the 5th but
an inner finger. I think the diagnosis goes on to suggest this is
evidence maybe for congenital syphilitic paralysis, hence explaining his
madness as well.
OTOH, I may have this totally backwards, since another account has him
suffering from manic depression, not syphilis.
This medico's diagnosis of Ludwig van B was cirrhosis of the liver BTW.
And Liszt died of smoking (but not till he was 70!)
Alexander Pensky
Valerie Langfield wrote:
>
> The other theory is this (very briefly):
> Schumann had syphilis. (Note that a symptom of tertiary syphilis is
> mental instability.)
>
Schumann injured his hand fairly early in his career (there are letters
in which he discusses the injury). Symptoms of tertiary syphilis don't
appear until later in life.
K A Kohn
Actually the series that you are referring to is Anton Neumayr's Music &
Medicine. A fascinating look at the great composers lives and medical
histories. It comes in three volumes. The second volume has Schumann life
and without looking back at the book I do recall that Schumann did sustain
an injury from using one of those crazy hand stretching/strengthening
contraptions. The last volume was just released by MediPress and has a
heartbreaking account of Chopin's life with tuberculosis. The books can be
orderred directly from MediPress at 1-800-500-8205 (USA). HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED READING.
Karen