Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau, Germany on June 8, 1810, and died July 29, 1856, in Bonn, Germany. Robert Schumann was known for his famous piano pieces, which were typically written for his wife. He was a german composer and a music critic; he was one of the greatest composers of the romantic era. His wife, whom he married in 1840, was Clara Schumann was also a German musician and composer. She also was considered as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era. Robert Schumann was the last child of the Schumann family.
His father, August Schumann was a literature person therefore, Robert spent his whole childhood with both literature and music. At a young age, Schumann started receiving general musical and piano instruction from a teacher at the Zwickau High School. Ever since having the general and piano instruction, his interest started to blossom, making Schumann have devotion for music. Not only did Schumann developed an interest in the music field but was also influenced by the great works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Felix Mendelssohn.
By the time he was 16, his father died and that same month his father died, his sister committed suicide, and ith no support at all, and no continuous aspirations in music, Schumann’s mother told him that she wanted him to be a lawyer. Or course, Schumann didn’t like that but had the obey by going to Leipzig to study law. With Robert in the school of law, he was much rather different. He didn’t attend class regularly and with Schumann being enchanted with music, he went back to Leipzig and started taking piano lessons from Friedrich Wieck, who then became his father- in-law.
Within the years of Friedrich teaching Schumann, nobody really knows how Schumann damaged his hand. Many studies say it’s because Schumann would tie weights around his ingers and start practicing. The reason of tieing his fingers with weights was supposed to give Schumann the ability to play faster. Other studies say that Schumann was born with the disease of syphilis. He was the “victim” of syphilis but no one really knows. Because of the injury to his hand, Schumann had to abandon the idea of actually performing at concerts. He felt sad for awhile but then thought of composing.
Although Schumann abandoned the idea of performing at concerts, he began studying music theory. Schumann than thought it’d be better if he composed and after taking his music heory classes with Heinrich Dorn, he then considered of composing an opera. After the tragedy event of his father dying, his sister committing suicide, his ability to not play the piano correctly, Schumann was going through tough times. Under his depression, Schumann smoked and drank heavily. This all happened around the 1830’s. Schumann was nearly about giving up on life, and just when he was about to, he decided to become more active as a critic.
After this, he established what is known as his most famous piece “Traumerei” (Dreaming) and “Kinderszenen (scenes from childhood) for the piano. ” Even though Schumann was going through all this “pain” and “stress”, Schumann performed his first movement of his Symphony in G Minor at this concert given by Clara Wieck. Once there, Schumann fell in love with Clara Wieck, whom he met in Zwickau for a concert. Once they got to know each other for a bit, Schumann sought out for Friedrich Wieck’s consent to their marriage but of course, he refused.
Schumann tried so many times by trying to get Weick’s permission and therefore, Schumann went to court to get permission and actually marry Clara. By the time they got married, Schumann decided to compose more music. Most of his music was meant for his wife and during their marriage, they were considered as the most distinguished people due to their music. Schumann wrote over more than 130 songs describing the love he had for Clara. The songs he composed were really inspired by the feelings he had towards Clara.
While making the songs, Schumann would always see the positivity of their relationship, since Clara was younger then Schumann, and Clara’s father would always find a way to break the relationship off. Apparently, whatever Wieck did, nothing really worked. They still saw each other. A day before Clara was twenty-one, in 1840 the court gave Schumann he right to marry her. Throughout the years, Clara gave birth to 8 children. They were all born in different time periods and what Schumann did was to write/compose different songs that express affectionate love toward their little one.
With Schumann composing, Clara did her part by concentrating on piano performances. With Schumann’s composing, it didn’t bring much money but with Clara’s performances kept the family stable. Her income was what held the family together than ever. During Schumann’s work on composing, he made great music such as “The Peri”, and “Piano Quintet in E-flat Major. ” Along the time, Schumann became a rofessor of “piano playing, composition, and teaching. ” Also, before he ever met Clara and even before he got married, Schumann was going through a lot. He was much rather depressed and was wanting to commit suicide.
In the late 1844 and 1850, Clara and Schumann went to live in Dresden, where he managed to somewhat restore his life. From there, began another symphony No. 2 in C Major, but unfortunately, the score wasn’t really completed. Although Schumann married Clara, had children, was going through tough times, and was somewhat always depressed, he composed more than 150 songs. “Piano Concerto in A Minor”, Spring Symphony”, “Third or Rhenish”, “Symphony”, “Fourth Symphony In D minor” and more songs that were later songs, short piano pieces, and chamber works. All his famous works were really contributing to the romantic era.
Including the opera’s he made. Schumann had unsuccessful songs as well. Not everything that Schumann did strived. For example, his opera named “Genoveva”, which was in 1847 was unsuccessful. Overall, everything that Schumann wrote/composed was known very well. His symphonies, concertos, overtures, chamber music, choral and vocal music, and piano music had a big significance to the romantic era. They would call Schumann as the classical man of the romantic era. Schumann as a composer and critic inspired others such as younger composers. Clara had the same successful career/pathway.
She did excellent on most of her performances. She too was called the most classical women from the romantic era. Schumann didn’t really have any problems with Clara, both of them strived very well during the romantic era. Going back to Schumann’s personal life and his health, Schumann had never been feeling nervous and he tried contemplating suicide three times in the 1830s. Because of his severe depression and exhaustion, he had to take pills as a reatment for syphilis. Although nobody really knows if he was the victim of syphilis or was it to the injury of the device of finger-strengthening.
Schumann started to feel more suicidal every day. The first reason of killing himself was because he thought he was going to harm Clara and because if the deep love he had for Clara, he wanted to make sure that he was away from Clara. The second reason was, of course, of the death of both his father and his sister. He felt really miserable and from that point on he felt really depressed but not as much. The third time he tried to kill himself was because he wasn’t feeling good, nd he felt like he needed to kill himself in order to alleviate himself from depression.
To conclude his own personal life, Schumann health deteriorated and everyday felt miserable. His symptoms of neurasthenia increased. Again, mentioning that he was afraid of hurting Clara, he decided to kill himself by throwing himself in the freezing waters of the Rhine. Attempting to commit suicide, he stayed there but after being rescued by a man, he voluntarily entered an asylum. There he decided to stay, with his condition destroying him causing him to die in 1856. Schumann was recognized as the greatest composers of the romantic era.
