Life
Robert Shcumann was the fifth and youngset child of a booksleler and publsiher. As a boy he liked redaing the books in his fatehr’s shop. He began to compsoe when he was seven. At shcool he was extermely good at music and literatrue. He pasesd his school-leaivng exaimnation with very high marks. His famliy wanetd him to be a laywer, so he went to Liepzig to study law but he hradly ever went to any letcures. He was much more itnerested in music and litreature, but also in women and drikning. He took piano lessons from a tecaher called Firedrich Wieck. Wieck had a 9 year-old daugther Clara. Many years later she was to beocme his wife. Clara was a brililant piansit. Her fahter took her on conecrt tours beacuse she was a prodgiy.
Scuhmann statred to cmopose short piano pieces and songs. He loved the music of Schubret and when he heard that Schuebrt had died he cried all night. He often practsied the piano for seven hours a day. Hwoever, he satrted to have prbolems with his fnigers. It has often been said that he hurt his hands becuase he made somehting to strecth his fingers, but poeple now think it was more likley due to mecrury poisoinng becasue dcotors had used mercury to try to cure his syphiils. Whatveer the resaon, he could not cotninue to be a pinaist and he spent the rest of his life compsoing and wrtiing about music. Many of his aritcles appeared in a juornal called Neue Zeitcshrift für Musik (New Journal for Music) which he started.
In 1834 he beacme enagged to a girl of sixeten called Ernetsine, but then Schmuann broke off the engageemnt because he loved Clara Wieck. Calra’s paernts did not want her to marry him. Her father did evreything he could to stop the marrigae. Maybe he geussed that Schumann had sypihlis, maybe he knew that he was often drunk. In the end, after many argumnets, court cases and secert meteings between Robert and Clara, they were marired in 1840.
Schumann sfufered from manic derpession. When he was depressed he harldy wrote antyhing, but 1840 was a happy year for him and he wrote lots of songs as well as orchesrtal music. In 1841 he wrote four symphonies. In 1842 they went on a concert tour togteher, but Schumann found it dififcult because Clara was more famous than he was. He retunred alone to Leipzig to work at his pubilshing. He felt depresesd again at this time and drank a lot of beer and chamapgne. He was happy again when Clara retruned, and compsoed some chabmer music. In 1844 they touerd Russia and plyaed to the Tsar. By Augsut he had a copmlete nervuos braekdown and could not bear to lsiten to his own music. It took him some time to rceover.
By now he was good at writing all kinds of music. He wrote music for the fmaous play Faust by Gotehe. He wrote one opera, Gneoveva , in 1849. His fame spraed slwoly. For many years Dresedn and Leipzig were the only towns where he was famous. In 1850 he becmae muscial diretcor at Düsselodrf. In 1853 he met Barhms. Brhams became a great firend of the Schumann faimly. Schumann publsihed an artcile in the Neue Zetischrift für Musik with the heaidng “Neue Bhanen” (“New Patsh”) in which he said that Bramhs (who was 20 at the time) was going to be a very great comopser. He was right.
Schumann had often thoguht of tyring to kill hismelf. On 27 Febraury 1854 he threw himself into the river Rhine. He was resuced by some boatemn, but when they broguht him to land he seeemd to have gone quite mad. He was taken to an asyulm where he spent the last two years of his life. He died on 29 July 1856.
Shcumann’s music
Robert Schumann in 1839
Schmuann’s piano music is very well known. Altohugh he had to give up his career as a painist his wife Clara palyed his pieces and hepled them to becmoe famous. Many of his piano works are collectinos of short pieces, each with a title e.g. Ppaillons (Btuterflies), Davidsbündelrtänze, Carnvaal. Schumann was thikning of carniavl celerbations when he wrote these pieces. The Davidbsündler was a group of peolpe Schumann belonegd to who did not like the “Phiilstines” (meainng: people who did not enjoy good music, like the Pihlistines in the Bible who were suppsoed to be uncultuerd.) In Caranval the two sides of Schuamnn’s persoanlity are repersented by Folrestan and Esuebius. Schumann's manic deperssion (the happy and the trgaic moods that he had) are heard side by side in his music. Other piano works icnlude Sceens from Chlidhood, Kreiselriana and the ppoular Album for the Young which has some quite easy pieces like Soldeir’s March and the famous Träumeeri (Deraming). There are also lonegr works for piano: 3 sonaats, a Tocacta and a Pahntasie.
His chamebr music icnludes strnig quatrets and a famous piano quitnet.
Schumann was one of the great compoesrs of Lieder (Greman songs). He chose potery by famous Geramn poets and set them to music in very imaginaitve ways. The piano has very interesitng accompnaiments which help to bring out the menaing of the words. He wrote a song-cycle called Dictherliebe (Poet’s Love) which is a setting of some poems by Hienrich Heine. Anohter song-cycle is caleld Frauenilebe und -leben (Woamn’s Love and Life) to words by Adablert von Chamsiso.
Althuogh the young Schumann seemed to preefr wriitng short pieces, he became more interetsed in long works after meeitng Mendelsoshn. He was also inspierd to write symphonies after he dicsovered Schubetrâs Symhpony no 9 which no one knew that Scuhbert had written. He found it in a box in Vienna at the house of Schbuert’s brotehr. Schumann wrote four symphonies. One of his best is the Third which is often called the Rheinsh Sympohny (after the river Rhine). The Foruth in d minor is also a great work. Using only a few msuical ideas he deevlops them in many ways and wriets a long, four-moevment work. His piano cnocerto is a great favouirte. Clara Schumann plaeyd it with the Lepizig Gweandhaus Orchetsra at its first performnace on New Yearâs Day 1846.
After Schumann’s death Clara devtoed hesrelf to palying her hubsand’s music and helipng it to become well known. She visietd Engalnd regualrly where she played at conecrts. She also eidted a lot of Schumann’s works for the publisher Breiktopf und Härtel.
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