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Robert Schumann

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist and music critic of the early Romantic period. He was born in 1810 in Zwickau, into a prosperous family in which his father was a bookseller and publisher. For him music and literature always went together, with writers such as Jean Paul as favourites. He first studied law in Leipzig and Heidelberg, but in the end chose music and took piano lessons with Friedrich Wieck. His dream of a career as a virtuoso foundered on a lingering problem with his right hand, and so he turned to composing.

Music and breakthrough

His early work is almost entirely for piano, with pieces that often suggest a story or an image: Carnaval, Davidsbündlertänze, Fantasiestücke and in 1838 Kinderszenen, which contains Träumerei. In 1840 he married Wieck's daughter Clara, against Wieck's wishes. In the years that followed he wrote many songs and song cycles, such as Frauenliebe und Leben and Dichterliebe. From 1841 came four symphonies and chamber music, including a piano quintet. In 1850 he moved to Düsseldorf as music director, but his insecurity and his unstable health made the work difficult. In 1853 he met the young Johannes Brahms. A year later he was admitted to an asylum near Bonn, where he died in 1856.

Influence

Schumann's is dreamy, personal music, full of shifting moods and short, songlike themes. His piano music and his songs are the basis of his fame. He became a model for later composers such as Mahler, Strauss and Schoenberg, and for the French.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Träumerei from Kinderszenen and notice the simple, songlike melody. Follow how the pianist lets the tempo breathe and lets the phrases end like a softly spoken thought.

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsRomanticism