BOOK: The Schumanns and Johannes Brahms (1991)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Schumanns and Johannes BrahmsYear: 1991Author: Eugenie SchumannLength: 217 pages In performing research for my own historical fiction book, I've read a lot of books about Clara Schumann and the Schumann family. Some of these biographies have been about Robert Schumann, and others about Clara herself. The Schumanns and Johannes Brahms was one of the more interesting books I read, as it is technically a memoir of one of Robert and Clara's children, Eugenie Schumann. As such, this memoir had a unique flavor from the biographies I had been reading. Of course, as Robert had died while Eugenie was quite young, this was a section of the memoir that was not possible to expand upon. It would have been interesting to get more of a sense of how Clara and Robert acted around their kids, but such is the tragedy of this life cut too short. Fortunately, the focus of my research was Clara Schumann, and this book had details in spades....
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VIDEO GAME: Cubism (2020)

by benmweilertNo Comments
CubismYear: 2020Rating: ETime Played: ~6 hours While most Virtual Reality games emphasize the immersive nature of the medium, few handle the ability to manipulate virtual objects freely in 3D space. While there are certainly puzzle games in VR (like Tetris Effect), none quite scratch that IQ test itch like Cubism. Of course, with puzzle games like this, there comes a point where the game gets too challenging to complete. This is even without a timer or other mechanic trying to pressure the player to work faster. Still, Cubism is a relaxing challenge for your mind. For those new to Virtual Reality, Cubism is a good primer for how to use the controllers (or even the hand-tracking features). Since the entire game is merely manipulating different shapes to fit into a 3D outlined space, there's a lot of grabbing, rotating, and placing. It can be played seated, and doesn't have any extreme elements that might induce motion sickness. This game could easily be...
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MOVIE: Song of Love (1947)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Song of Love Year: 1947 Rating: Approved Length: 119 minutes / 1.98 hours Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time with me will know that I absolutely love the story of Clara and Robert Schumann. She was such an inspiring woman and well ahead of her time in terms of her independence. In researching her life for a future historical fiction novel I plan to write, I found that Katharine Hepburn had portrayed Clara Schumann in Song of Love (1947). I already knew the story beats of the life of Robert and Clara (with some of the drama Johannes Brahms (Robert Walker) introduced), but Song of Love misses the point almost entirely. While there were some scenes in this movie that spoke to the situation of Robert and Clara's tragic love story, they were completely lost in what I can only describe as "1940s sitcom schtick." These scenes added nothing to the narrative of the implied love triangle between Clara, Robert, and Johannes....
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BOOK: Schumann – The Faces and the Masks (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Schumann: The Faces and the Masks Year: 2018 Author: Judith Chernaik Length: 773 minutes / 12.83 hours When it comes to biographies of famous artists, it can be difficult to separate their life from their life’s work. It is fascinating to understand the influences of an artist, especially when in the context of their creation. However, much of the ability to talk about the artist’s life depends on common knowledge of their artistic portfolio. For slightly more obscure artists, finding the balance between discussing their personal life and providing an explanation of their art can be a challenge. Schumann: The Faces and the Masks attempts to cover both Robert Schumann’s life and his musical pieces. While revealing some of the more interesting secret codes in Schumann’s music in this book, the moments discussing the songs in detail seem to derail the whole narrative of the biography. Schumann’s life was fascinating enough as it was, with the drama involved in his marriage to Clara Wieck, as...
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