Robert SchumannJune 8, 1810 – July 29, 1856
At age 20 he began to study piano from Friedrich Wieck who assured him that he could become the best concert pianist in all of Europe. However soon after this the young man permanently injured his right hand. Some historians believe it was a result of his attempt to strengthen or perhaps even surgically alter his fourth finger (the weakest in the hand). Whatever the cause of the injury, he abandoned ideas of a concert career and devoted himself instead to composition. In addition to composing his own music, he also campaigned to revive interest in major composers of the past, including Mozart, Beethoven and Weber and promoted the work of some contemporary composers, including Chopin (who did not like Schumann's work) and Berlioz. 
Flirtatious exchanges with the 15 year old Clara Wieck, daughter of his piano teacher whom he had met when she was a child of 11 and who was herself a concert pianist and composer were put to an end when her father became aware of their secret meetings and forbade them to see any more of each other. Robert immersed himself into composing. In 1837 he again asked her father's consent to their marriage, but was again refused. The Träumerei, written during this period, is one of the most famous piano pieces ever written, and exists in myriad forms.
In 1840, after a long legal battle with her father, Robert and Clara were finally married. This year, known for his writing of 168 songs for voice and piano, was the most important time in his musical legacy. It was no doubt directly related to the happiness he felt from finally having his Clara. Robert and Clara had seven children. Despite his achievements, Schumann received few tokens of honour. On one occasion, accompanying his wife on a concert tour in Russia, Schumann was asked whether 'he too was a musician'. Dresden and Leipzig were the only large cities in which his fame was at this time appreciated. 
On September 30, 1853, the 20-year-old Brahms knocked unannounced on the door of the Schumanns carrying a letter of introduction from the violinist Joseph Joachim; he amazed both Clara and Robert with his music, stayed with them for several weeks and became a close family friend.
Frequently troubled by mental illness, Robert would often have angelic visions and imagine dead composers were sending him themes. When his symptoms increased he warned Clara that he feared he might do her harm. On February 27, 1854, he attempted suicide by throwing himself from a bridge into the Rhine. Rescued by boatmen and taken home, he asked to be taken to an asylum for the insane. He entered Dr. Franz Richarz's sanitarium in Endenich, a quarter of Bonn, and remained there for more than two years, until his death on July 29, 1856. Back To.....Home Page.....Free Sheet Music Online Back to.....Classical Music History Back to.....Top of Page.....Robert Schumann
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