Musikalische Haus- und Lebens-Regeln … [from cover title:] Mit gegenüberstehender französischer Uebersetzung von Franz Liszt.

Leipzig & New-York: Eigenthum der Verleger J. Schuberth & Co.. [1859]. First edition. Small 8vo (139 x 108 mm), pp. 35, [1]; with facing French title Conseils aux jeunes musiciens, traduits par Francois Liszt, adding "Paris, chez G. Flaxland" to the imprint; light marginal pencil marks, some spotting; a very good copy in the original yellow printed wrappers, Schuberth's small stamp below imprint, lined with stiff blue paper, all edges gilt, contemporary ink ownership inscription of Carl Nossberger to first page (a blank), stamp of Ferdinand Nossberger (1817 -1891) to title and front cover.



First edition thus, very rare. OCLC locates copies at the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Heidelberg, the Royal Library in The Hague, Tresoar (Leeuwarden), Newberry, German Society of Pennsylvania, and Rice. Not in COPAC or KVK.



"The Lebensregeln offer invaluable insights into Schumann's views on the foundational aspects of the art of music. Strictly speaking, the collection is not comprised of aphorisms at all, but rather of prescriptive maxims, pithy directives aimed at the fledgling musician, whom the composer addresses in the familiar du form on a broad range of topics: sensible practice habits, the development of basic musical skills, the acquisition of taste, the cultivation of a literary sensibility, advice on compositional method, and the formation of sound critical judgments. Yet the diverse content of the Lebensregeln is unified by an overriding idea: 'There is no end to learning'" (John Daverio, Robert Schumann, 1997, p. 407).



The Lebensregeln first appeared in 1850, as a supplement to the Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik (which Schumann previously served as editor, 1834 -44), were published as a Separatabdruck aus des Verfassers 43 Clavierstucke fur die Jugend by Julius Schuberth (then in Hamburg and Leipzig), and included as an appendix to subsequent editions of the Album fur Jugend. Schuberth was a close friend of Liszt and asked him to translate Schumann's little book into French, its first appearance in another language. Maria Eckhardt notes that the complex personal and musical relationship between Schumann and Liszt could fill a whole book, but the connection Liszt's translation makes between them still awaits the attention of scholars, presumably on account of the book's rarity.



A very nice double anniversary book: Schumann's 200th birthday was on 8 June last year, Liszt's is 22 October 2011.



Maria Eckhardt, "Franz Liszt als Bearbeiter und Vermittler von Werken Robert Schumanns', 'Neue Bahnen "': Robert Schumann und seine musikalische Zeitgenossen, ed. Bernhard R. Appel (Mainz, 2002), pp. 29-40, identifying the date of the book thanks to an unpublished letter from Liszt to Schuberth. (5809)

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Classical Music

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