Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 3.djvu/436

424 traces of the influence of Schumann's music both in harmony and rhythm, but this influence, which first seems perceptible in the 'Soirées Musicales,' op. 5, 6, is afterwards less noticeable in the pianoforte works than in the songs, many of which are of great beauty. Schumann himself has made use of themes by Madame Schumann in several instances, namely in his Impromptus op. 5 (on the theme of her Variations op. 3, which are dedicated to him), in the Andantino of his Sonata in F minor op. 14, and (as a 'motto') in the 'Davidsbündlertänze,' op. 6.

The following is a list of Madame Schumann's compositions:—

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SCHUNKE, (or ?), pianoforte player and composer, born of a musical family at Cassel, Dec. 21, 1810. His progress was so rapid that at 10 he could play the Concertos of Mozart and Hummel, with ease. In 1824 he visited Munich and Vienna, and then Paris, where he put himself under Kalkbrenner and Reicha. After some wandering to Stuttgart, Vienna (1832), Prague and Dresden, he came to Leipzig, where he made the acquaintance of Schumann, and an intimate friendship was the result. Schunke was carried off on Dec. 7, 1834, at the early age of not quite 24, to the great grief of Schumann, who indulged his affection in several interesting papers ('Ges. Schriften,' i. 92, 325; ii. 56, 277) full of memorials of his friend's characteristics. Schunke's appearance was striking, and he was a very remarkable player. He was one of the four who edited the 'Neue Zeitschrift für Musik' on its first appearance. His articles are signed with the figure 3. [ G. ]

SCHUPPANZIGH, celebrated violinist, born 1776, in Vienna, where his father was a professor at the "Realschule. He adopted music as a profession about the time of Beethoven's arrival in Vienna (end of 1792), and that he early became known as a teacher we gather from an entry in Beethoven's diary for 1794 'Schuppanzigh three times a week, Albrechtsberger three times a week.' Beethoven was studying the viola, which was at that time Schuppanzigh' s instrument, but he soon after abandoned it for the violin. Before he was 21 he had made some name as a conductor, and in 1798 and 99 directed the Augarten concerts. The 'Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung' of May 1799, after describing the concerts, remarks that 'the zeal shown by Herr Schuppanzigh in interpreting the compositions produced, make these concerts models worth following by all amateur associations of the kind, and by many conductors.' In Oct. 1800, however, the same writer doubts 'whether Schuppanzigh is really a great conductor,' and as a matter of fact the concerts declined. On the other hand, Seyfried speaks of him as a 'thoroughly energetic, and highly gifted orchestral player.' Beethoven, who had also appeared at the Augarten concerts, kept up a singular kind of friendship with Schuppanzigh. They were so useful to each other that, as Thayer says, they had a great mutual liking, if it did not actually amount to affection. They used neither 'Du' nor 'Sie' in addressing each other, but 'Er'—a characteristic trait of both men. Schuppanzigh was good-looking, though later in life he grew very fat, and had to put up with many a joke on the subject from Beethoven. 'Mylord Falstaff' was one of his nicknames (letter to Archduke in Nohl, Neue Briefe, p. 75). The following piece of rough drollery, scrawled by Beethoven on a blank page at the end of his Sonata op. 28, is here printed for the first time:—

Schuppanzigh was a great quartet-player, and belonged to the party which met every Friday