Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was a German Romantic composer and music critic. Although he was not a musical prodigy – he came from a literary family and only began piano lessons at the age of seven – he would become one of the most important composers of the nineteenth century.

Schumann composed in various genres, but is best known for his piano works and songs. In the 1830s, he wrote the works that established him as a piano composer. His marriage to Clara Wieck, the talented pianist and daughter of Schumann’s former piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck, provided a huge creative boost to his work.

In 1840, the year of their marriage, which had long been opposed by Friedrich Wieck, Schumann expressed his emotions through his music and composed nearly 140 vocal songs. In 1841 and 1842, he focused on orchestral and chamber music.

Schumann was also active as a critic and co-founded one of the most influential music publications in Germany, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. His life came to a premature end after a period of madness and mania, likely the result of syphilis, which he had suffered from since his teenage years.