The Universal Journal of Music 1850 supplement included a biographical sketch of Schumann that noted, 'It has been related that Schumann, as a child, possessed rare taste and talent for portraying feelings and characteristic traits in melody,-ay, he could sketch the different dispositions of his intimate friends by certain figures and passages on the piano so exactly and comically that everyone burst into loud laughter at the similitude of the portrait.' Schumann young, c. Even though he often disregarded the principles of musical composition, he created works regarded as admirable for his age he later recalled in his autobiography having produced 'dances'. The boy immediately developed a love of music, and worked on his own compositions without the aid of Kuntzsch. Īt age seven, Schumann began studying general music and piano with Johann Gottfried Kuntzsch, a teacher at the Zwickau high school. Schumann began to compose before the age of seven, but his boyhood was spent in the cultivation of literature as much as music-undoubtedly influenced by his father, a bookseller, publisher, and novelist. Schumann was born in Zwickau, in the Kingdom of Saxony (today Central Germany), the fifth and last child of Johanna Christiane (née Schnabel) and August Schumann. Diagnosed with psychotic melancholia, he died of pneumonia two years later at the age of 46, without recovering from his mental illness.īiography Early life Schumann's birth house, now the Robert Schumann House, after an anonymous colourized lithograph After a suicide attempt in 1854, Schumann was admitted at his own request to a mental asylum in Endenich (now in Bonn). What is now thought to have been a combination of bipolar disorder and perhaps mercury poisoning led to 'manic' and 'depressive' periods in Schumann's compositional productivity. Schumann suffered from a mental disorder that first manifested in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode-which recurred several times alternating with phases of 'exaltation' and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. These characters bled into his editorial writing in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication that he co-founded. Schumann was known for infusing his music with characters through motifs, as well as references to works of literature. His best-known works include Carnaval, Symphonic Studies, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie in C. He composed four symphonies, one opera, and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. Later, he composed piano and orchestral works, and many Lieder (songs for voice and piano). Until 1840, Schumann wrote exclusively for the piano.

Clara and Robert also developed a close relationship with German composer Johannes Brahms. A lifelong partnership in music began, as Clara herself was an established pianist and music prodigy.

In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara Wieck, after a long and acrimonious legal battle with Friedrich, who opposed the marriage. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. His teacher, Friedrich Wieck, a German pianist, had assured him that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Robert Schumann ( German: 8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic.

Schubert composer